Until You Make Me Move
by BryceWrites
Summary: Daryl was just tired of the pain. But could a pretty librarian stop him from killing himself? Could somebody actually care about the redneck son of the town drunk? He's about to find out. Young Daryl fading into pre-season 1, season 2 and 3.
1. Desperate for Changin'

I just moved through the streets, trying to get away from the house. I'd come home from school to see my dad almost passed out drunk in his recliner. If I'd been ten minutes later, I would've made off fine.

But I hadn't.

And when I closed the door to the house, he'd woken up and started yelling at me. I barely caught what he shouted. He was talking about me and Merle, my mom, his shitty job.

I wasn't surprised when he took off his belt and gave me a lick with it. I felt the sting as it broke skin and I gritted my teeth. I used to cry, when I was younger. I used to scream for him to stop. That only made it worse.

He used to hit Merle sometimes. But Merle got into trouble a lot now; usually because dad wouldn't go visit him in jail. I never thought about doing something to purposely get out of here. It was just normal; Come home, get yelled at, get a lick or two.

They didn't normally leave a scar. But I knew this one would. I could feel the way my skin stretched then broke open that it would leave a mark.

He was too drunk to really know where he was hitting. He stopped aiming for my ass and legs a long time ago. These had ended up somewhere on my back.

After three more, he collapsed onto the floor near the fireplace. I was breathing heavy as I sat hunched over on the floor. Normally one or two would satisfy him. I didn't know what I'd done to deserve five of them. I groaned quietly as I saw his breathing even out. He was long gone.

Slowly and painfully, I stood up and limped over to the couch. I picked up the blanket that hung on the back of it and loosely threw it over his body. I limped up the stairs to the shower. I didn't bother shutting the door and finding fresh clothes. I knew if I stayed in the shower long enough, under the hot spray, the blood would clot itself and I wouldn't have to go to the hospital again.

* * *

I couldn't remember what I'd taken or drank. I knew there was a bottle of pills at my feet somewhere and I faintly remembered putting a handful in my mouth, washing it down with a big gulp of whiskey that burned on its way down.

Dad had passed out a long time ago I think, but I couldn't remember. I'd found the nine millimeter he kept in his room and I was running my fingers over the smooth black metal. I couldn't remember why I'd gotten it out of his room, but it was important.

I knew that much. It was important for me to have this gun. And then I heard it. The little voice I could normally push away. It was like that little devil they said sits on your shoulder. He wanted me to kill myself. But I had to do it somewhere public, somewhere that they would remember the son of the town drunk.

Merle would be proud! I'd finally make it big time! Nine o'clock news, here I come!

So I stood up and stumbled down the stairs, only tripping once. I counted this as a win and picked myself up. I couldn't feel the lashes on my back from earlier, but I knew they were there. I fumbled with the front door, not bothering to close it behind me. There was no point. I stuck the gun in my jeans and clumsily buttoned one of the buttons on my plaid shirt that was hanging open off my shoulders.

I walked for a long time, or so I thought until I looked up and saw the sign for the library. It was starting to get dark and they'd close soon. That would work. I'd do it there.

I stumbled up the steps and I didn't see it, but I could feel the looks from other people. _There goes the kid of the town drunk, lookin' just like his pop!_ I knew what they said behind my back.

The lights of the library were too bright; I had to cover my eyes. People milled around the shelves like it was all they had to do. I guess it was. It's not like any of these people got beat on a regular basis.

"Sir, can I help you with something?" A girl, maybe about my age, asked. I could barely read that she was a library assistant.

"Fuck off, stupid bitch." I slurred, continuing forward as best as I could.

She didn't look surprised like I had wanted her to.

I just kept walking until I got to the little stage they used for kids plays in the summer. I stood up on it and pulled the gun out, firing off one shot at the ceiling. "Are y'all payin' attention?" I shouted.

Instead of watching me, they screamed and began running out the door.

I didn't understand. How was I supposed to kill myself if I didn't have an audience to notice that I had actually died to begin with?

"Hey, come down from there." The girl told me, coming closer as people pushed past her to flee the psycho.

"Make me." I grinned.

"Please come down from there." She asked again, softly.

I laughed. "Fuck you, bitch. I ain't comin' down for shit."

"Why not?" She asked.

"I need somebody to watch me kill myself." I smiled down at her, my brain swimming.

"Why do you need somebody to watch?" She asked.

"Why the fuck are you questioning me?" I yelled, pointing the gun at her, uneasily. My back was starting to ache from earlier. Maybe I hadn't taken as many pain killers as I thought.

"Decent people don't point guns at other people. Are you a decent person?" She asked me.

I laughed. "Decent people." I wiped a tear away; from laughter or my own depression, I couldn't tell. The whiskey had too much of a hold on my brain. "Decent people don't beat their kids. Decent people don't pass out from drinking all day, or take off with random waitresses. Decent people don't give a fuck about fucked up people like me."

"I give a fuck. Does that make me not decent?" The girl asked me and she was starting to piss me off.

"Who the fuck are you to give a motherfuck about me?" I asked, loosely pointing the gun at her.

"My name's Emma." She said.

"Daryl." I told her, then remembered why I was here. "You're the only one left so you get to pick. Through the teeth or the ear?" I asked, demonstrating as I bit gently down on the barrel of the gun before pressing it to my temple.

"Why would you want to kill yourself?" She asked, coming closer to me.

"Fuck you, bitch. You wouldn't know shit. You're perfect and everythin'." I yelled at her.

She was only a few feet away from me. I could've kicked her if I'd wanted to. She pulled up the sleeves of her long shirt, relieving red and white marks across both forearms. Scars. She looked up at me and despite the drunken haze I was under, her brown eyes felt like they were staring into my soul. "I'm sure your life is a peach too, Daryl."

I flopped down on the stage and roughly took her arms in my hands, running my thumbs over the scars on her arms and I looked up at her, my gaze caught with hers.

None of my scars had been self-inflicted. All of mine came from a monster that lived at the bottom of a bottle. Through the foggy cloud that was my brain, I wondered what had happened in her life to make her want to do this to herself.

"The devil on my shoulder made me come here. He told me to kill myself somewhere that had an audience." I told her, unaware I was talking until the words spilled out of my mouth.

"So why did you stop at the library?" She asked.

I shrugged, her arms still in my hands. "It felt right."

"Maybe you weren't sent here to kill yourself. Maybe you were sent here because someone knew you could be saved." Emma told me and I didn't know why, but my brain latched onto her words and they clung to me.

I roughly pushed her away, my temper flaring. "Ain't nobody give a rat's ass about some redneck kid that's son of the town drunk. Ain't nobody!" I yelled at her.

She still wouldn't leave. I knew she just told me her name, but I lost it in the haze. "Are you still going to shoot yourself?"

"Damn straight." I said, pushing the gun to my temple and closing my eyes.

I was surprised as the gun moved away from my head. "Then you can shoot me first." She said, the gun resting against her chest, over her heart.

"I ain't gon' shoot you!" I told her, surprised at her comment.

"Why not?" She asked, almost as surprised.

"You ain't done me no wrong!" I told her.

"But it'd be the same thing if you shot yourself. You'd be taking an innocent life long before it's number is called." She told me, her face serious.

"It ain't your choice." I told her, wrenching the gun away from her.

"Well fine. But if you're going to shoot yourself, shoot me first. If you're not feeling the heart, you can aim for the brain; it'd be the quickest. Or the stomach; it'll only take me five or ten minutes to bleed out." She told me.

"Stop talkin' crazy. I ain't shootin' you!" I yelled at her, trying to get her to understand.

She just stood there, not a foot from me, watching me.

"Stop lookin' at me like that." I told her, feeling unnerved.

Suddenly, surprising me, she took my hand that was free of the gun. She didn't say anything, just held my hand. I wanted to pull back, away from her. But something stopped me. I looked down at our hands. Nobody touched me except my old man since my mom died. She'd always been good to us, me and Merle. She'd loved us as best she could, my pop too.

I forgot what it was like to have contact with another person. Now, she made me want more. I took her hand strongly, barely realizing I was doing it. "Is this ok?" I asked, not wanting to hurt her with my grip.

She smiled at me and it was genuine; it was real and she meant it. That smile, it was just for me. It wasn't for nobody else. It made me kind of smile. "It's just fine, Daryl."

"Ya really think I was supposed to come here to not die?" I asked, the words tasted funny in my mouth.

"I absolutely think you were sent here not to die." She told me.

"I ain't much of a decent person. I pointed a gun at ya and everythin'." I said, suddenly ashamed of what I'd done. In my embarrassment, I let go of her hand and turned away from her. Merle always had a girl for some reason I couldn't quite make out, and he was never real nice to them, which never made sense to me. But I'd always told myself I'd be better than that.

She quickly took my hand, turning me back around. "Daryl, don't leave."

I looked down at her confused. She was only a few inches shorter than me. "Your eyes are so pretty." I told her, not even remembering the words as I said them. The edges of my vision were blurred. All I saw was her.

She blushed and ducked her head and it made her look kinda cute. "Think maybe you can put the gun down now?"

"What if I still want to kill myself?" I asked her.

"What if I want you to kill me first?" She asked.

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "Why would ya wanna do somethin' like that?"

"Life is hard, real hard. It ain't no peach. But it's worth it. And if you kill yourself right here and now, I won't be able to live it down. Your blood will be on my hands the rest of my life." She told me, standing her ground. "So if you wanna kill yourself, that's certainly your choice. But you'll have to kill me first."

I didn't mean to; I was trying to hold it back, but the whiskey let a tear leak out of my eye and I just let it fall.

She reached up and wiped it away with a little smile. "You're worth something, Daryl."

My knees gave out and the gun fell out of my hands as I hit the ground. I started crying, wrapping my arms around her waist. Her hands combed through my hair, whispering comforts as I heard heavy boots hit the floor. "I'm so sorry." I cried against her stomach, holding her tightly.

"It's ok. It's ok." She whispered, running her fingers through my hair until the point they put me in handcuffs and pulled me away from her.

"I'm so sorry, Emma." I told her, remembering her name. I barely saw her through my tears as two police officers hauled me out the doors and into the cruiser outside.

* * *

The next day was a blur. I woke up with a splitting headache and my back hurt liked no other. It was easily one of the worst beatings I'd gotten from pop. They had tried to call my dad, but he was still passed out I guessed. I didn't have any grand-parents they could call. My neighbor, Ms. Matthews ended up coming to court with me, as the officer informed me pop had split town.

He usually did so I wasn't surprised.

Ms. Matthews was a nice old lady that lived just down the street. She didn't care for Merle any, which always set him off, but she saw something in me that I couldn't place or explain. I had no idea what it was, but she had listed herself as one of my emergency contacts in my school file when I'd hit 9th grade. Here it was almost three years later and she still came to court for me if they called.

The judge was disappointed in me and made it plain. He took a little bit of mercy on me as this was my first offense with a firearm. All my other offenses had been stupid little things. Instead of one year in Juvie, he knocked it down to eight months.

* * *

It was an hour car ride to get to the closest Juvenile Detention Center, as we lived in the middle of nowhere. I'd always found out that while Merle was currently out of state, he'd got busted for a B&amp;E.

I went through the process of getting booked in, it was kind of a blur by the time they put me in the cell with my bunk mate. I didn't learn his name. He was friendly, despite our circumstances and I ignored him, not caring for how or why he got in here.

It'd be hard enough lasting eight months, just to get attached to someone who leaves.

* * *

Wednesday was visitation rights. Anybody you knew could come visit you for a four hour period, as long as they called first to be put on the list. If you'd been in for less than two months, you had to talk to someone from the other side of a Plexiglas shield. If you'd been here longer than that, they let you and your visitor into the rec room to sit and hug or whatever it was that people with visitors did.

I stayed on my bunk as they opened the cell door. "Dixon, Myers, visitors." The guard called.

I looked over at him; obviously there was a mistake. But the glare he gave me made me roll off the bunk and follow the kid out of the cell. I had no idea what kind of miscommunication happened. No one would come visit me. I was an hour away from my home town.

The guard led me and small fry into the room with the Plexiglas phone booths. One guard led small fry down to a booth and the other guard led me to another booth, making me sit down.

I was confused at the girl in front of me. She seemed familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on who she was. I picked up the phone as she motioned to it.

"Hey Daryl." She said with a gentle smile and I knew I'd seen it somewhere before.

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

She looked a little hurt. "You told it to me. At the library." She said and I didn't know what she was talking about. I didn't go to no library. "When you had the gun." She said quietly.

My eyes widened. "Emma, right?"

She smiled. "Yeah." She said, ducking her head a little.

"What the hell ya doin' here, girl?" I asked, not being able to stop myself.

But she just smiled. "Talking to you, silly boy."

I shook my head. "We're an hour from Willisburg. What ya doin' here?"

She just smiled gently. "I wanted to check and make sure you were doing ok."

Suddenly, in a flash of light, the whole night came back to me and I pulled the phone away to hang my head in my hands. I couldn't look at her. I'd waved a gun in her face and threatened to take my own life. And then she'd pointed the gun at herself. It could've gone off at any minute. One whiskey induced finger twitch and she could've died and I'd have been in prison.

I heard her say my name through the receiver, despite the fact it sat on the desk. I couldn't look at her. I picked it up and put it to my ear. "I'm so, so sorry."

She paused. "I know that."

Slowly, I looked up at her for what seemed like the first time. Her brown hair had flecks of red and black in the florescent lighting. Her brown eyes were bright and clear. Her teeth showed in her smile when she meant it. And there, on the right side of her chin, was a little half-moon scar.

I waited for the hatred, the anger to surface; hell, even fear or worry wouldn't have surprised me. But none of these emotions played on her face. "Why are you here?"

"I had to make sure you were ok, despite your circumstances." She told me.

"You drove an hour up here just to check on me?" I asked her.

She nodded her head with a smile. "I got my license last month. I work at the library part time. I saved up enough money to buy a little car. It's not much, but it gets where it's supposed to."

I just sat there, phone still to my ear, watching her. I didn't know what to make of her. She was odd and she stood up to me while I had a gun in my hand. She even drove an hour to check on a complete stranger. "You didn't press charges." It was the only thing I could think to say.

She smiled still, shaking her head. "You're damaged. No reason to make it worse."

"I ain't damaged!" I said, louder than I'd wanted to.

The guards came over on both sides of our booth. "I'm sorry. I upset him. It's fine. We're ok." She said to the guard on her side and he nodded.

"I ain't damaged." I said weakly. But I knew as I said it, it wasn't true. I was very damaged.

"Damaged isn't bad, Daryl. Damaged can be fixed and repaired. See now, if you were broken, that'd be harder." She told me.

"How ya know I ain't broken?" I asked her.

Emma smiled. "You woulda shot me."

I shook my head. "I'm so sorry."

She put her hand on the Plexiglas and I wanted to hold her hand again, to feel human touch. "Stop apologizing, Daryl."

I shook my head. "I'm gonna apologize for the rest of my life."


	2. Starvin' for Truth

Emma was a stubborn little shit, I'd give her that. Every Wednesday like clockwork, guards would say I'd have a visitor. Peewee, my cell mate's nickname around the yard, had a visitor once in a while. But Emma came every Wednesday like she got paid for it.

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I liked having her around. Even if it was only once a week. I laughed every time she cracked a joke, regardless of if it was funny or not. She smiled every time she looked at me; she smiled like there wasn't anything between us. Sometimes, I liked to think we were sitting on a park bench somewhere, just talking.

"C'mon." She whined through the phone.

"I ain't tellin' ya about my family." I told her sternly for the tenth time this hour. She'd insisted we get to know each other better.

"Fine." She said. "How about two truths and a lie?"

"I don't got no clue what that is." I told her with a sigh.

She smiled. "It's easy. You tell me two things about you that are true and one that's a lie and I have to guess which one is the lie."

I sighed, not answering her.

"Fine, I'll go first." She said, thinking for a minute. "I can slow dance, I'm from Boston, and my favorite movie is My Bloody Valentine."

I sat there thinking, rubbing my chin. "Your favorite movie."

She grinned, shaking her head.

"You're from Boston?" I guessed.

She nodded. "That would be the correct lie."

"You can slow dance?" I asked.

She nodded. "My mom taught me."

"And your favorite movie is My Bloody Valentine?" I asked.

She smiled. "It's a good movie. And it's your turn."

I shook my head, thinking. "I have one brother, I like old music and this is my first time in Juvie."

Emma grinned and I didn't want to smile back at her but I did. "This is definitely not your first time in Juvie."

"How'd ya know?" I asked.

"Most people put the lie at the end, because they can think of the truth faster than a lie." She told me.

"You didn't put yours at the end." I told her.

She smiled. "Because I know it mix it up."

I shook my head. How did I get stuck with this one?

* * *

I'd been in here all of two months. They finally let me and Emma into the rec room. It was weird, sitting at a table with her when there wasn't anything between us. She looked the same and talked to me the same way. She never once acted like I'd tried to hurt her and I decided I'd spend every day trying to repay her kindness. I didn't know how I was going to be able to do it, but I knew I had to.

Another month later and the guard called that I'd had a visitor. I'd warmed up to Peewee a little. We'd started talking about how we'd got here, never about our families though. He'd started teasing me about Emma coming to see me every week. I played it off.

"Your girl's got a surprise for you." The guard informed me. He didn't hate me since I hadn't tried to make trouble. I just wanted to get out of here.

"What surprise?" I asked him as he led me down the flight of stairs.

"She told me not to tell you." The guard said.

They'd come to think Emma and I were going steady. I didn't have the heart to tell them how we'd met. So he led me down another flight of stairs and pushed open the door to the rec room. She sat at a table with a cupcake that had a candle on top of it.

I was confused. "What's this?"

She just smiled at me. "It's your birthday silly boy."

I was confused, looking over at the guard who smiled. "My birthday?" I asked, looking back at her.

She just grinned, like she was amused. "Yeah. You turn seventeen today."

I shook my head. I usually forgot my birthday after my mom had died. My dad got violent and Merle didn't care none. "You did this for me?" I asked, sitting down.

"Would you shut up and blow out your candle? You're getting wax all over my hand crafted cupcake." She said.

I shook my head again and took a deep breath, blowing out the single candle. Without meaning to, I'd made a wish as the candle light flicked out. Deep down, I knew it meant nothing. But I gave myself this little bit of hope.

I pulled the dripping candle off and plucked off the wax. I pulled off the cupcake paper and split the cupcake in half, giving her the half with the liner.

She smiled, like she hadn't expected me to share. "You know I made this for you, right?"

"Ain't worth nothin' if it ain't shared." I told her.

She smiled and bit into the chocolate. "Do you like chocolate? I didn't know."

I nodded. "There's worse things." I told her, taking a bite.

"I can live with that." She said, breaking off a piece of the little cake and putting it in her mouth.

I paused, trying to figure out what to say. I had to say something. "Thank you." I told her, not looking up at her.

She shook her head. "Ain't nothin', cowboy."

I raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like a cowboy to you?"

"No, you look like a hick." She told me.

I nodded, agreeing with her. Besides, I'd been called worse.

"Do you like it?" She asked, looking worried.

I smiled, showing off the chocolate that stuck to my teeth. "I do."

She grinned, ducking her head.

_God, she was cute._

* * *

I'd been in Juvie for five months now. Emma still came every Wednesday and I was pretty sure it was the only thing keeping me sane in this place. Through talking to her, I found out her birthday was in October, right before I got out of here. I knew her favorite movie and TV show; I knew that she liked dark chocolate more than milk chocolate; I knew that she only watched scary movies during the day because it gave her nightmares.

In turn, I'd told her about how Merle was in jail in Alabama, the fact I liked chocolate, but I didn't love it, and how I loved to go hunting because I liked the feeling of being lost in the woods, despite the fact I always knew where I was.

I told her I'd teach her to track when I got out of here and she seemed to like the idea. I couldn't tell if she was for real, or if that was just something she was going along with.

She was on a first name basis with all the guards and gate keepers. She smiled at everybody. I couldn't actually figure her out. She was kind to me, but she seemed to have a rough side I hadn't touched yet.

Another Wednesday and Randall undid our cell, leading Peewee and me down to the rec room. Emma sat at our regular table. But her hair was covering her face and she wore a big pair of sunglasses.

"Miss, you gotta take off your glasses." Randall told her.

She ducked her head and pulled the sunglasses off, setting them on the table. With her head hung, her hair fell and covered her face.

"Hey. What's wrong?" I asked her, reaching across the table to touch her hand.

She flinched, pulling away from me.

I froze. I just sat there, looking at her. "Who?"

Emma shook her head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I reached for her hand again, grabbing it. "You know my dad used to hit me. I acted the same way. Who hit you?"

She looked up at me through a curtain of hair. It took a moment before she looked directly at me.

Anger boiled in my veins as I slowly reached up to move her hair out of her face, brushing it behind her ear. I could feel fire in my blood, seeing the big purple bruise circling her right eye and moving down her cheek.

"Who?" It was the only word I could bite out.

I saw her swallow. "It's not a big-"

I cut her off, hitting the table. She jumped, watching my carefully. "I didn't have someone to watch out for me. Now you've got me. You have to tell me who it was."

Randall came over, wondering what happened. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." Emma was quick to say, covering her face.

"Tell him." I told her, taking her hand.

"Tell me what?" Randall asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Emma said nothing and I was about to open my mouth when she looked up at Randall, blinking back tears.

Randall's face softened. "Who did this, girl?"

Emma wiped away the tears before they fell. "My boyfriend."

"Give me his name." Randall said.

Emma coughed, obviously trying to hold the tears back. "I-I can't." She said, looking to me for help as her eyes spilled over.

I squeezed her hand, slowly reaching up to wipe away the stray water. She flinched away from my hand, but seemed to relax when she realized it was me. "He won't hurt you anymore." I told her.

She squeezed her eyes shut, moving away from my touch. "I need to go."

"I can't rightly let ya go." Randall told her.

Emma bit her lip. "He'll hurt me."

I shook my head. "Let me help. He'll never hurt you again."

She looked unsure. "But you're in here. You won't be out for another three months. You can't promise me that."

I gripped her hand a little tighter. "I promise he won't hurt you anymore."

Emma looked scared. "David. David McAlister."

Randall stood up to walk over to one of the other guards. Emma stood up quickly and left. I didn't even have time to say goodbye before she was out through the door and past security. I stood up, hoping to go after her until I realized I couldn't.

Randall came back over. "What happened?"

I shook my head, not really sure. "She just left."

"I told one of the other guards. He's going to make an anonymous call to the police station. Nobody will know who called." Randall told me.

I nodded, it was all I could do.

* * *

Emma didn't come by for two weeks. I felt empty and alone. I didn't say anything to anyone about it though. I didn't actually say much of anything to anyone. I stopped talking to Peewee and the guys in the yard. I ate my three squares and went back to my cell. Emma had told me about a handful of books she liked and had tried to get them through security, but they wouldn't let them in.

Juvie didn't have a bad library though. I tried to keep track of the books she told me about as best I could. But the books couldn't keep me company the way she did. I knew I would have only seen her twice in those two weeks, but it had been a constant in my life.

After my mom died, I hadn't had a constant anything. Except Merle going to jail and my dad hitting me. Emma had been the only good constant thing. And honestly, I was scared. I was scared that her boyfriend had got a hold of her again.

It was the second Wednesday Emma hadn't come by. Randall slid our cell door open and called for Peewee. I jumped off the bed.

"Randall, have you heard from Emma?" I asked him.

He paused. "No. I told Jeff about what happened a couple weeks ago." He said, then seemed like he was thinking about it. "She hasn't come back, has she?"

I shook my head, wondering if he could see the sadness on my face.

"I'll ask around." Randall said before leading Peewee down to the rec room.

* * *

Randall returned Peewee to our cell and told me he hadn't heard anything. I was getting frustrated. She could be dead in a ditch somewhere, and I'd never know. There wasn't anything I could do and it pissed me off.

Another week trickled by slowly. I was uncomfortably used to not hearing Randall say my name. So when he pulled open our cell door, I continued reading. And when he said my name, I paused. I slowly looked over at him, making sure I wasn't hearing anything wrong.

"Dixon, you got a visitor." Randall said.

I threw myself off the bed, hurrying to the rec room. So when I saw Merle sitting at the table, I got confused. I stopped moving when I made eye contact with him. He smiled at me, but I wondered if this was a weird joke.

"Hey little brother." He said with a smile.

"Merle?" I asked, still not sure.

"You ain't got but one brother." He told me.

I came over and hugged him tightly, not sure when I would be able to again. "You got out?" I asked.

"I got parole." Merle smiled.

I just sat there. Dixon's didn't get parole. We got shit. "Parole?" I asked, thinking about how it was almost a four letter word in my house.

Merle nodded happily. "How've you been, little brother?"

"Uh. Good." I said. I couldn't tell Merle about Emma, or her boyfriend, or how I was freaking out that she wasn't here. He'd call me a pussy and tell me to nut up, and really, that wasn't worth a thing.

"You looked awful surprised when I came in." Merle told me.

I nodded. "Nobody told me you were out."

"Were you expecting somebody else?" He asked.

I knew Merle well enough to know that if he was asking me a question like this, he already knew the answer. I shook my head at him. "Why ya gotta ask somethin' ya obviously already know?"

He grinned at me. "Just makin' sure we're on the same page. Some dame, I hear?"

"She ain't no dame." I told him.

He shrugged. "Don't matter none to me. You get ta tap it before ya got in here?" He asked, winking at me.

I had no intentions of telling Merle I was still a virgin. I'd heard many times about how he lost his to a prostitute at fifteen. So he assumed I'd got rid of mine, as I was two years past his. "Think she got fed up with me." I told him honestly.

Merle shrugged. "Girls are like buses; the next one comes in ten minutes."

As much as I knew he meant well, it wasn't a confidence boost. But I nodded. "Where ya goin'?"

"Gonna see Amy." Merle grinned. Amy was the waitress that worked at the Alley Street Bar in Willisburg. She was the best thing our little town had to a workin' girl.

I nodded. "Well you have fun with that."

Merle patted my shoulder before standing up. "Stay strong, little brother." And with that, he turned and left.

I sat there, my head falling into my hands. Even with Merle here, all I could think about was how it wasn't Emma. How was I supposed to make this whole thing up to her if she wasn't gonna even come back here? Maybe she really was fed up with me. Tired of talking to a good for nothing, dead beat son of a drunk. I didn't blame her none.

All I wanted was for her to tell me to my face.


	3. Closer to Where I Started

Another month passed slowly, like molasses in the winter. Every day seemed like it was twice as long as it should've been. I'd gone through almost half the library already. I'd even read some Shakespeare. I could hardly remember any of it, but it kept me busy.

I couldn't stand talking to anyone anymore. My temper went off the handle too easily. I'd gotten into three fights in the last month. They kept telling me I only had two months left. But I'd stopped keeping track on the calendar.

Merle said he'd come by once a month or something, when he could make it. He hadn't come back since the first time I'd seen him. I wasn't holding my breath. As much as I loved Merle, he wasn't reliable worth shit.

Randall seemed to feel sorry for me and it was pissing me off. I'd even cussed him out last week. I didn't need the goddamn pity stares. I didn't need people feeling fucking sad for me. I needed an outlet. I'd taken to working out when I was in the yard and reading when I was in the cell. It still wasn't helping.

My temper would go through the roof at the drop of a hat and I'd sent one kid to the infirmary because I saw red and didn't know I was beating the shit out of him. It took three guards to pull me off him. I felt so bad. Without thinking, I'd turned into my old man. A counselor came in to talk to me about. Asked me why I started hitting him in the first place.

I couldn't tell him because I didn't know. I just had to hit him and when I did, I couldn't stop.

He didn't approve. Neither did I, but I didn't know how to fix it.

It was Wednesday again, the only day I kept track of. I didn't mean to, but I couldn't help but get my hopes up. Randall called my name and I sat up from my book. I slowly slid off the bed. "You know I'm sorry about what I said last week, right?"

Randall gave a little chuckle. "That girl did you over good, boy."

"She deserves better than some redneck freak like me." I told him, ducking my head.

"Like that boy that turned her black and blue?" Randall asked, no trace of emotion on his face.

I fumed. How could he say something like that? I was about to yell at him when something yellow caught my eye, making me turn my head. I froze. Emma sat at the table in jeans and a yellow top, matching the tulips in the Juvie flower garden. I couldn't move, it was like I was glued to the tile.

Randall gave me a shove, jolting me out of my thoughts. I started walking over to her and fell into the seat across from her. "You're… you're ok." I said, swallowing the lump in my throat that formed.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked, ducking her head.

"You… you didn't come back." I said nervously. I was scared she was going to leave again.

She bit her bottom lip and I had to focus on the scuffs in the table. "David got arrested. Tried as an adult. He gets to serve six months in county jail."

I blinked. "What? That's it?"

She nodded. "Six months and he'll be back to selling drugs out of his mom's basement." She gave a little laugh that turned into a cough. "I sure know how to pick 'em."

"I…" I paused, my mouth suddenly went dry. "I thought he hurt you somethin' bad."

She shook her head. "Well, he had one more go at me." She said, pulling up her long sleeve to reveal a burn mark that looked like it'd been made with a fireplace poker. "But the police showed up because of some anonymous tip." She said, looking at me.

"Hey now. I didn't say nothin' to nobody." I told her.

"And what happens when you get out? Huh? You gonna go back to living with your dad?" She asked in a harsh whisper. "How are those belt marks on your back?"

I hadn't expected her words to hurt so bad, but they cut deep. I cringed, ducking my head and looking at my hands. "Don't know." I said quietly.

She made a noise like she was about to cry. "I'm sorry, Daryl. I'm so sorry. That was cruel of me."

I shook my head. "After all I put you through, the least I deserved was that."

She shook her head. "No you didn't. You deserve so much better in life, Daryl Dixon."

I just looked out the window. "I don't deserve nothin'."

Her grip on my arm surprised me. "You deserve everything."

I just sat there, looking down at her. "I don't want nothin', but to get out of here."

She nodded. "What are you gonna do when you get out?"

I thought about it, watching the way her eyes flicked across the room when someone moved. "I'm gonna take ya to dinner."

She paused, looking back at me like she hadn't heard me right. "You're gonna what?"

"I'm gonna take ya to dinner, if ya'd like to go with me." I said.

She blinked at me. "You wanna take me to dinner? All the things you could do when you get out and you want to take me to dinner?"

"Boy, if you actually take her to dinner, I'll pay." Randall said as he came by to escort Peewee back to the cell.

Emma laughed, making me smile.

"Yes." I said, in answer to her question.

She shook her head, her cheeks turning a little pink. "Where would we go?"

"Where ya wanna go?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I ain't hard to please. A picnic in the park would be fine."

"If that's what you want." I told her, smiling.

She shook her head, watching me carefully. "You're a fine man, Daryl Dixon."

"I ain't nothin', but the son of a drunk and friend of a pretty librarian." I told her.

She blushed, brushing off my compliment.

* * *

Because Emma came back to see me every Wednesday, the last two months of my sentence passed quickly. I packed the small amount of things I'd brought or been given into one paper bag. I hugged Randall and Jeff as I left, the only two guards that made me promise to check up with them. I figured they were the only two ones to care what happened to kids after they got out.

Emma offered to pick me up from the Detention Center and I was half temped to say no, just because I felt bad for her still having to drive an hour to see my sorry ass and turn around. But I wanted to be as close to her as possible. I was still reminding myself that I owed her my life when she pulled into the parking lot.

She drove an old white Buick Century and she smiled when she got out of it. She came around the car kind of awkwardly. I stood there, wondering how to word my request, if I should at all.

"Hey. You alright?" She asked.

I realized I was biting my lip. I nodded. "I uh… wanted to ask you something." I said, ducking my head, kicking a pebble with the toe of my boot.

"Anything." She smiled.

I raised one eyebrow. I was glad I took after my mom instead of Merle; because I thought up four or five things he would've said to that. "Can I hug ya?"

She grinned and put her arms around my neck, pulling me close.

Until she did this, I didn't realize how much human contact I missed. I think my mom was the last person I'd hugged. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close, relishing the feeling of her against me.

I pulled away from her, wanting more, but not wanting to make it awkward for her. I still had a debt to repay and I couldn't repay it if I freaked her the fuck out.

She smiled up at me. I realized now she was at least four inches shorter than I was and she was even in some kind of combat boot. "Daryl Dixon, you can have a hug anytime you want one."

I ducked my head with a smile. "Much obliged." I told her.

"See, you're part cowboy after all. Think I might even get you a hat." Emma smiled.

My face dropped and my eyebrows rose. "I ain't wearing no hat."

She smirked. "Get in, cowboy."

* * *

I asked her to take me home. I knew it was safe because it was during the day. If my dad wasn't passed out drunk somewhere, he was at work at the saw mill. "You wanna come in?" I asked Emma.

She surveyed the place. "Um. Well I was gonna change. I'll come back and get you in an hour, is that alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, an hour." I said, opening the door and getting out of the car. I turned around as she pulled out of the driveway. I watched her leave before I realized I hadn't opened the door yet.

I pushed open the door and the house was trashed. I was taken back a little. I was used to keeping the Juvie cell clean. I had forgotten how my dad didn't know how to work a trash can or a dishwasher. I decided it'd be best if I ran through the shower first, then pulled on clean clothes.

Walking out to the living room after, I started collecting garbage in a bag. The least I could do was pick the place up a little in case she wanted to come inside. When I finished that, there was three trash bags on the curb, waiting to be picked up.

Next, I ran a load of dishes and hand washed the others that wouldn't fit inside. I hadn't kept track of time, so when the doorbell rang, it startled me. I didn't even know the doorbell worked. I wiped my hands on a kitchen towel before going to answer the door.

I froze. Emma smiled up at me, wearing a red and white top over perfect fitting blue jeans. It took me a moment to realize I was just standing there staring. "Hey." I sputtered out, clearing my throat and ducking my head. "Hey, sorry. Ya wanna come in?" I asked, standing out of the way.

She smiled, crossing over the threshold and looking around.

"It ain't much, but I tried to straighten up a lil' bit." I told her, finishing up the last pan in the sink.

She grabbed a towel and took it from me to dry.

I just watched her. "Ya don't gotta help."

She smiled. "I don't gotta be useless neither."

I shook my head. "Ya ready?"

"Whenever you are." She said.

I nodded, holding my elbow out to her.

She smiled as she took it and we walked out to her car. "So where to?"

"I thought maybe Amore's?" I asked, buckling my seatbelt.

"I wouldn't have taken you for a lover of Italian." She said with a smile as she backed out of the driveway.

I shrugged. "I didn't have time to go buy food and a basket for a picnic."

She smiled, gently taking my hand. "I would have been fine with a hotdog from Phil's cart and a walk through the park."

I shook my head. "Ya deserve more than a hotdog."

* * *

I had thought taking Emma to Amore's was a good idea; until we sat down and Joey, the owner, who was from Italian, came out and asked what we wanted. I ordered like a normal human. Emma ordered in Italian.

Joey laughed and hugged her, telling our waiter that our meal was on the house. He then told us it was a little secret of his. If you came in and could speak Italian, your meal was free. He laughed some more and left, and I just sat there staring at her.

"What?" She asked, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

"You speak Italian?" I asked.

She smiled. "My mom made me do it. I can also speak Irish and a little French."

I just blinked. I considered getting up and walking out of the restaurant. She was so out of my league, she was a blip on the horizon.

Emma looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything. I won't do it again."

I shook my head. "No. I'm just startin' to realize how out of my league ya are."

She cocked an eyebrow. "Me? Out of your league? Please." She told me, nibbling on a bread stick.

I was surprised at her. "Ya speak three different languages. Ya have a car and a decent home life from what I can tell. How the hell did ya get mixed up with a mutt like me?"

She just kind of smiled. "A mutt like you wandered aimlessly into my library."

I ducked my head, still ashamed. "I know."

She took my hand. "Hey. All is forgiven. I'm just teasing."

I shook my head. "I ain't forgiven myself yet. I won't neither."

She opened her mouth to say something, but the waiter brought our food. She smiled over at me as she dug into her pasta.

* * *

"So where ya from?" I asked, as we walked around the park together.

"Here, of course." Emma smiled at me.

I shook my head. "Ya don't talk like me. It ain't like ya lived your whole life here."

She smiled, apparently understanding my question. "I grew up in Montana. Then my mom moved us down here. She doesn't like to stay in one place very often, but we've been here for almost two years."

"How come I never saw ya around?" I asked. "Ya some kinda hermit?" I teased, nudging her with my shoulder.

She cracked a smile. "Nah. You saw me around. You just never looked at me."

I looked at her oddly. How was it possible that I'd never seen her walk by me?

"I sat behind you in History. We had English together, but you never looked at the blackboard once you sat down, so I don't think that counts for much." Emma told me.

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed her for almost two years. Another thing to add to the 'reasons Daryl's a jerk' list. I felt ashamed and embarrassed. Here, there was a pretty lil' thing walkin' and talkin' with me 'round the park, and I'd never actually seen her before now. "I'm sorry."

Emma smiled, taking my arm. "Ain't nothin' to be sorry 'bout, cowboy."

* * *

"And you see that one there?" Emma asked, pointing at a bunch of stars.

I wiggled a little closer to her, my head resting close to hers. "Yeah."

"Ok, so that one is Hercules. Those four square ones are his cody." She said, waving her hand.

To be honest, I couldn't tell what the hell she was looking at. I knew there were stars in the sky and I knew there were constellations. But I sure as hell couldn't see them. I felt someone looking at me so I turned.

Emma sat there, looking at me sideways. "You don't see it, do you?"

"What? Nah. I can totally." I told her.

She smiled at me. "You're lying."

I nodded. "Yeah, I am."

She just smiled, turning back to the sky. "That's ok. It's not for everybody."

"How'd ya get into stars? Ya seem to know an awful lot 'bout 'em." I said.

"My dad taught me when I was younger, before he died." She told me.

"How'd he die?" I asked, then realized that was much more of a personal question then I'd intended. "I'm sorry." I said, turning back to gaze at the stars.

"He killed himself." Emma said, almost so quietly, I nearly missed it.

I felt like an asshole. Here I was trying to make this whole thing up to her, and I was bein' a dick. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't've asked."

She shook her head a little. "It's alright. He doesn't feel pain anymore, so it's ok." She said. And we fell into silence for a long minute. "He had cancer."

I turned to look at her again and she fixed her gaze on the sky above me.

"He was terminal. Brain cancer. It gave him mood swings and stuff." She said, and I wondered if she ever told anybody what she was telling me. "He told us there wasn't any way some disease was gonna be the end of him."

I wiggled closer to her on the grass. If nothin' else, I wanted her to know I was there for her.

She finally tilted her head to look at me, giving me a sad smile. "I was the one that found him. After I came home from school."

I didn't know what to say. I wasn't good at comforting people. But the loss and sorrow in her eyes made me wrap my arms around her shoulders. She pulled closer to me so we were laying on our sides, her head against my shoulder.

"I never told anybody that. My mom always told people a family friend found him." She said and I heard her sniffle.

"Hey, it's alright." I told her.

She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me tighter to her. "Thanks Daryl."

"Hey, it ain't nothin'. You ever wanna talk 'bout anythin', I'm right here." I whispered into her hair.

"You're a good friend." She said, her words mumbling against my denim jacket.

"A pretty girl taught me how." I told her. She pulled back and looked at me confused before I gently pushed a lock of stray hair behind her ear.

"You think I'm pretty?" She asked quietly, ducking her head like she didn't think she'd like the answer.

"I think you're gorgeous, girl." I whispered, making her look up at me.

"You mean it?" She asked.

I smiled. "I wouldn't ever say nothin' I didn't mean to ya, darlin'."

She smiled and snuggled up close to me, making me smile bigger as I held her.

* * *

She was nice enough to drive me home and I decided I needed a job to get me a truck or something. It wasn't right for her to always be drivin' me around. She put it in park and I realized that my dad was home.

She looked over at me and I didn't want her to know how scared I was. So I forced a smile. "I had a really good time tonight." I told her.

She gave me a sad smile and I knew she saw right through me. "You don't gotta go in there."

I nodded. "I do. Just for now. I ain't gonna let him hurt me no more, but it's all I got."

Emma looked like she wanted to protest. "I had a good time too. It uh… was the first time a guy's taken me out." She said, looking away from me as a little bit of pink colored her cheeks.

"What?" I asked, dumbfounded. "You ain't never been on a date before?" She twitched her fingers and fidgeted in the seat. I'd made her uncomfortable. "I didn't mean it like that. Please." I said, gently taking her hand to make her look at me. "You're so darn pretty. I can't believe it, s'all."

She smiled a little. "Next time a picnic."

I nodded. "Next time a picnic."

She bit her bottom lip lightly and I thought about how soft her lips might be against mine. Before I could think about it anymore, she leaned over and kissed my cheek. She bit her lip again as she returned to her seat.

I froze. I hadn't had the heart to tell her I didn't get along much with girls. Merle always had a girlfriend or somebody around. I'd gotten kissed my first year of high school, but then people realized who my dad was and they kinda left me alone.

One second of thought about it and I leaned over the center seat to gently press my lips against hers. She paused for a second before she kissed me back. Every fiber in my body wanted to push her against the door and never stop kissing her.

But I pulled back, breathing heavily. I didn't want her to feel like I was pushing. I'd just got outta Juvie today.

I watched her carefully, trying to gauge how she felt.

She smiled and blushed. "That was… that was real nice."

"I didn't want ya feelin' like I was pushin'. I just thought if I didn't do it 'fore I got out of the car, I might never." I told her honestly.

She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, still smiling. "I'm awful glad you did."

I grinned, feeling happy down to my bones. "Night, Emma."

"Night Daryl." She said and I started to get out of the car. "Daryl?"

I turned around, ducking down to look at her.

"You need anything, you call." She said sharply.

I smiled down at her. "Only if you do the same."

She smiled. "Good night."

I smiled and closed the door to the car. I stood there and watched her back out of the driveway. I turned to look at the house and took a breath. The walk up the drive felt like the longest of my life. I took another breath before walking in.

Merle and dad sat on the couch, watching some baseball game. There were beer bottles littering the floor and dirty dishes in the sink. I sighed. It was useless.

"Baby brother!" Merle yelled, catching dad's attention.

I hugged Merle as he nearly attacked me.

"Why you lookin' so fancy?" Merle asked, his eyebrows drawing together.

"You been out?" Dad said from the couch.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh, boy. You been out with that sweet piece of ass that was visitin' you?" Merle asked, a smile curling onto his lips.

I felt anger bubble up in my chest at Merle's words, but I kept quiet. I simply nodded. "Took her to dinner." I said quietly.

"With what money?" Pop laughed from the couch, finishing one beer and cracking open another.

I shrugged.

"Hey, you tappin' that?" Merle asked with a wink.

I shook my head. I didn't want to hear him talk about Emma like that anymore and if I didn't leave, I was gonna break his jaw. "I'm tired. I'm goin' to bed." I said, turning and ignoring the comments to he threw out along the way.


	4. I'm Chasing After You

I groaned, rolling over. The sun was barely coming up behind the rolling hills in the distance. I sighed. I didn't know I'd stay waking up early. I was lookin' forward to catching a few more z's than I'd been getting. I groaned again, pushing myself off the bed and stumbling towards the bathroom.

I glanced down the stairs after I finished, seeing pop and Merle passed out on the couch. I nodded. That was okay. Maybe they'd both sleep off the hangover. I looked at the clock. Almost six. I dressed quickly in clean clothes. I was gettin' a job today if it killed me. I quietly snuck out of the house and walked into town.

The only thing open at six was the mom and pop place. I nodded to the hostess, sliding into one of the seats in view of the clock. I didn't have much money on me, but I figured I could buy a cup of coffee and a couple eggs.

The waitress took my order and a half hour later, I'd finished my meager breakfast. It was easier than having to explain to Merle or pop where I was going or why I didn't wanna stay at home. I had just barely enough to cover my breakfast and I left the rest for the waitress.

I walked through town, hitting every place that was open. It took me about three hours, but I finally got around to the repair shop off 3rd street.

The owner was a grizzly bear of a man that didn't like outsiders. He didn't mind workin' on cars for the local folk, but he hated workin' on a car for a tourist. He had rough edges like a saw blade and he knew when you were lyin' to him. So when he stared down at me and asked outright why I wanted the job, I didn't know what to say.

I stalled, trying to think of an answer. But the only thing I could come up with was the truth. "I wanna buy a truck."

"Why ya need a truck? Yer feet work fine." He said, spitting out a mouth full of tobacco.

I nodded. "Yes sir, they do. But I wanna ride my girlfriend 'round. She's got a car and all, but I don't think it's right, her drivin' me places." I said, hoping I didn't sound like a pansy. I heard Merle's voice in the back of my head, telling me I was pussy whipped and I needed to nut up.

Ralph, the owner, watched me for a minute. "What kinda truck ya lookin' after?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "The kind that runs and don't look like it's fallin' apart."

"Ya go to school?" He asked me.

I shrugged again. "I was in school. I ain't really lookin' to go back though."

Ralph nodded and rubbed his grease covered hand against his chin. "I'll make ya a deal, son." He said, putting his big hand on my shoulder and walking me out to the lot. "Ya see that rig over there?"

My eyes trailed to where he pointed and I saw the old gray pickup sitting abandoned in the lot.

"That there's a 1973 Ford pickup. You come to work at 10 every morning, Monday through Friday. You work here until four and I'll let you borrow tools to fix her up. Once you get her fixed up, you're a good employee that works hard and ya still want the job, I'll put ya on payroll." Ralph told me.

I looked up at him in surprise. "Ya mean it?"

"I ain't promisin' ya shit, son. I'm givin' ya the opportunity to do somethin' with yer life. That means no fuckin' up and expectin' somebody else to carry it. Ya fuck up, ya own it. Ya hear?" Ralph said sharply.

I nodded.

Ralph nodded his head slowly, his hand rubbing his chin again. "Get yer ass back here tomorrow, ten a.m. sharp and we'll see what ya got."

I nodded again, shaking his hand. "Thank ya sir." I told him, before walking off the lot.

* * *

I walked through the front door of the office at 9:45. There wasn't a snowball's chance in Hell I was gonna be late for the only job that would take me. Ralph looked up from his desk with a pair of reading glasses and a half smile.

"Well, boy. I said ten."

I nodded, suddenly worried. "I know. I heard ya. I didn't wanna be late, s'all."

"You always this early?" Ralph asked.

"Only when it's important." I told him with a nod.

He looked be over again. "Aight. Lemme show ya the back." He told me, standing up from his desk and led me into the back of the building. "Jesse!" He hollered. It took a minute, but a scrawny blonde guy came out from underneath a Jetta.

"Yeah boss?" The Jesse guy said, wiping his hands on a grease rag.

"This here's Daryl. He's workin' for us now." Ralph told him.

Jesse eyed me. "You the youngest Dixon kid?"

I nodded, ducking my head a little. I had been worried about this. "Yes sir."

"That ain't a problem, is it son?" Ralph asked, but his tone gave no room for argument.

Jesse shook his head. "No sir. Just makin' sure I know who I'm workin' with. You want me to show him the ropes?"

Ralph simply nodded and gave a little push on my shoulder in the direction of Jesse.

"C'mon then boy. We ain't got all day." Jesse said. I nodded and hurried to his side. "Ya know anything about cars?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "I can change the oil and replace an alternator."

Jesse nodded, apparently impressed. "More than ya look like ya could do." He said. "So what'd ya tell Ralph to get ya the job? He don't much like kids in the shop."

"I told him I needed a truck to drive my girlfriend around in." I told him. I knew I shouldn't be calling Emma my girlfriend, but we went on a date. That counted for something right?

Jesse nodded. "Aight. Good enough reason. Help me change the oil." He said, nodding towards the Jetta.

I was glad he was starting me off with something I knew. Probably as a test, but I was okay with that.

* * *

I worked until a quarter after four before I wiped down my hands and went to find Ralph in the office. I stopped, seeing Emma at the counter. She turned to leave, seeing me. Her eyes roamed over me, covered in blue coveralls and a smile slowly crept onto her smile.

"Daryl Dixon. Did you go and get yourself a job?" She asked.

I nodded, ducking my head. I smirked. "Only 'cause I look damn good in coveralls."

She laughed and smiled at me. "Well, can't argue with that reason."

"This your girlfriend?" Ralph smirked.

"Yeah, boss." I said, looking over at her and hoping she wouldn't get mad.

"Well, now that you got a job, you can afford that picnic basket." She said, walking over to me and kissing me on the cheek. "You best stop by after work, you hear?"

I nodded quickly. "Yes ma'am."

She smiled and turned away from me. "Thank you for fixing my baby, Ralph. I'll be by to pay for it tomorrow." She said before walking out the door.

It took me a minute to realize I was still watching the door before I glanced over at Ralph and cleared my throat. "Uh, sorry, boss." I said, reaching up to rub the back of my neck.

"Son, you got it bad." Ralph smiled and I was starting to see a little bit of the gooey center inside the saw blade edges.

I nodded.

Ralph just watched me for a minute.

I sighed. "She's goddamn perfect, boss. I don't even know why she hangs around my sorry ass. I'd try my damnedest to rope the moon if that's all she wanted from me."

Ralph laughed then nodded. "Married twenty-two years next month. I still feel the same way. Don't you go lettin' go of that girl. If she's outta yer league, but still hangs around, it ain't got nothin' to do with yer looks. Trust me." He said with a smile.

I nodded. "I uh, finished helping Jesse. I didn't know where you wanted me to pull the tools out of."

Ralph nodded. "You can use mine. I find one screw drivers bent or missing and yer ass is outta here so fast, yer head'll spin." He said sternly, pointing a finger at me.

I nodded. He showed me where his tool box was and I got to work.

* * *

I stopped working on the truck when it got dark. There wasn't much else I could do when I couldn't see it. I told Ralph I was goin' home and he reminded me to stop and see Emma. So I walked down the road, leading to her house. I was nervous, standing in front of her door. My palms were starting to sweat and I wiped them on my dirty jeans before knocking.

An older lady answered the door and I figured this was her mom. I realized I could've picked a better time to be wearing torn jeans and a dirty shirt. "Can I help you?" She asked.

"Uh, yes ma'am. I um, I'm lookin' for Emma." I told her.

"And you are?" She asked harshly.

I felt her words like a slice. "Daryl, ma'am. Daryl Dixon."

"Mom? Is that Daryl? I told him to come by!" I heard from inside the house, accompanied by the sound of running feet.

She smiled when she got to the door, looking at me through the screen. "Mom, Daryl needs a tutor for Math. I told him if he came by, we could talk about a schedule in the front yard and figure out what time works best for the both of us."

"You best keep your hands to yourself." Her mom said sharply before nodding to Emma, who smiled and stepped outside.

We walked down to sit on the sidewalk so her mama wouldn't over hear us.

"So, ya get a job and don't even tell me, huh?" Emma asked with a smile, leaning into me so that I knew she was joking.

I nodded. "I swear, I went to every business around tryin' to find some work."

"You do that so you have enough money to get out of your dad's place?" She asked.

I hadn't thought that far ahead, but I didn't wanna tell her about the truck. I knew she'd say I was bein' silly. So I nodded.

"And we're datin' now, huh?" She asked with a smile, leaning in to me again.

I blushed and rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm real sorry 'bout that. He asked what I wanted the job for."

"And you said me?" She asked, curiosity dancing in her brown eyes.

I ducked my head. "I told him I wanted to be able to buy my girlfriend some nice things." I said with a shrug like it wasn't a big deal.

"Do you?" She asked.

I nodded, not even having to think about it.

She blushed and ducked her head. "Sorry 'bout my mom. She doesn't like the idea of me having a boyfriend before I graduate."

I shook my head. "If I had a daughter as pretty as you are, I'd wanna protect her from guys like me too."

"Better than the last guy." Emma said, cringing.

I shook my head again. "He don't count. Wasn't a man at all. Just some jackass punk. You ain't supposed to treat nobody like that." I said, feeling the anger warm my chest.

Emma set her hand on my shoulder and I could feel myself cool down a little bit. "You're a good person, Daryl Dixon."

I didn't know what it was about the way she said my name, but I wanted to hear it every day for the rest of my life. "You're better." I told her, gently pushing against her shoulder with mine.

She smiled. "Can I eat lunch with you tomorrow?"

I shrugged. "If you wanna."

"I wanna. I'll bring you lunch, sound good?" She asked.

"Anything you want." I said, hopping up so I could help her up off the curb.

She smiled and glanced back at the house. Her mom was standing by the screen door, but turned and left when she say Emma looking. Quickly, she gave me a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She told me, running off to her house.

* * *

I wasn't sure how, but I somehow managed to avoid running into my pop or Merle. Pop was passed out drunk by the time I got home and Merle's motorcycle was gone. I didn't care, as long as I didn't have to explain where I was, I was happy.

I woke up early the next morning and Merle was still gone. By the time I got to the shop, it was almost eight thirty. Ralph looked confused when I walked through the door, looking at the clock. "Yer awful early, son."

I nodded. "I was wondering if I could work a full shift. I figure if I work the full ten hours, maybe you could pay me under the table for five of 'em and the others I could use for borrowin' the tools."

"Ya wanna work ten hours and only get paid five?" He asked.

I nodded. "It ain't even gotta be minimum wages. I could work half that. Just so I had a little money in my pocket."

Ralph seemed to be considering this. "Aight. Ten hours a day, startin' tomorrow. I'll pay ya for whatever ya work over five today, under the table 'cause I ain't doin' the paperwork."

"And, I uh…" I trailed off, not knowing how to word it. "I gotta 'nother question."

"Spit it out." Ralph said.

" 'Bout Emma's car. Ya think I could work that off too?" I asked nervously.

"Payin' off yer girlfriend's bill?" He asked like he was clarifying.

I nodded. "I'm just tryin' to do as much for her as a can. She uh… she helped me an awful lot when I got in a tight spot. I owe her my life, boss."

He nodded after a minute. "You best not skip out on me or I'll kill ya." He said sternly, pointing his finger at me.

I smiled at him. "Thanks boss." I told him, heading for the back. I pulled on my overalls and found Jesse under the belly of a little Ford car. "Mornin' Jesse."

He paused and pushed himself out from under the car. "Whatcha doin' here so early?"

"Boss said I could work a full day." I told him.

He nodded, adjusting his beany on his head. "Grab a set of Allen wrenches and 'mere." He told me, ducking back under the car.

* * *

I helped Jesse with the Ford until we finished up with it and moved onto an old red Chevy pickup. I was leaning over the hood, wrenching on a tight bolt when somebody socked me on the shoulder, nearly knocking me over.

Anger flooded my chest and I was ready to throw punches when I turned to see Emma with her arms crossed.

"What the hell was that for?" I asked, still surprised.

"You paid for my car repair." She told me, moving her hands to set on her hips.

"What? No, I didn-" I stopped, seeing Ralph at the doorway, laughing. "Aight. I did."

"Why?" She asked, hands still firmly planted on her hips.

"Remind me not to get her mad." Jesse mock whispered, leaning over my shoulder.

I blindly connected with his shoulder and gave him a shove. "I told ya I was gonna pay ya back."

"Daryl Dixon, what are you talking about?" She asked.

I ducked my head, feeling my chest warm up in frustration. "For the night at the library. I'm gonna spend every day repaying you and if that means payin' off your car repair or buyin' you nice things or takin' you out to dinner that doesn't involve hot dogs, that's what I'm gonna do. And if you got a problem with that, I think you best get." I said, gesturing to the door.

"I told you that you didn't have to repay anything." She said, still looking flustered.

She was starting to piss me off. "Goddammit woman. Quitcher bitchin' and say thank you."

Slowly, her lips turned up in a smirk. "Thank you." She said, kissing my cheek. "Ready for lunch?"

I couldn't help but smile as Jesse burst out in laughter. "Ya'll need to be gettin' married 'cause ya'll are perfect."

"Shut your trap, Jesse." I said, kicking him in the leg before I took Emma's hand and led her to the front of the building. "Hey boss. I'm takin' lunch." I called to Ralph.

"Ya see yer girl yet?" Ralph called back, not looking up from his papers.

"Yes sir. I'll be back in half an hour." I told him. I then led her outside towards the back of the building.

"So. Jesse seems like a charmer." Emma said with a smile as she sat down at the picnic table across from me.

"Yeah, he thinks so." I said as she pulled sandwiches out of a cooler I hadn't noticed her carrying. "Ya know ya didn't have to bring me lunch."

She smiled. "I wanted to. Besides, I eat by myself at school anyway." She shrugged.

"Ya don't got no friends?" I asked her, taking a bite of my sandwich.

She kind of shook her head a little bit. "Not really. They keep telling me I talk funny, even though I've lived here since freshmen year."

I felt a wall go up. Was she getting' picked on? "Tell 'em to shut their faces 'cause they sound just as funny to you. I bet I sound like a downright freak."

Emma smiled, but shook her head. "I like your accent a lot."

We finished our sandwiches in silence and I walked her back to her car, carrying the cooler for her. I opened the door, tossing the cooler into the passenger seat before standing back to let her get in.

"That was awful sweet of you, paying for my car repairs." She told me.

I shrugged. "Ain't nothin'."

Her hand gently touched my arm and I had to stop the shivers running up my spine. "No, Daryl. It means a lot to me. I know you're not well off and you're trying to prove something. But you don't have to prove anything to me. I just want you to know that."

I smiled. "You make me wanna prove everybody wrong."

She grinned. She pushed up on her tippy toes and pressed her lips to mine. My left hand set at the small of her back and my right hand tangled in her hair, pulling her closer to me. Ever so gently, I pulled away from her, taking a big breath.

Her smile stayed on her face.

"Dixon! Get yer ass back to work!" Jesse hollered from the open bay.

"Aight." I yelled back. I sighed heavily.

"Be a good boy, Dixon and go make some money." Emma smiled up at me, giving me one more kiss before she fell into her car and drove away.

"Ya got it bad, son." Jesse said with a smile and a shake of his head as I reached the open bay.

* * *

I worked later than I had the day before. I was covered in grease and all I really wanted was a shower, regardless of how much of it came off. I walked up my front steps heavily and the smell of hard liquor hit my nose before I could register what this meant.

I'd forgotten, honestly.

Not being in the house all day. Not being at school where everyone talked behind my back about who I was, or who's kid I was.

I forgot what happened when you came home late to find your pop boozed up on the couch. His head whipped around when he heard the screen door bang shut and he was on his feet.

"Where the hell you been, boy?" He said, slurring every word.

I was scared. "Out." I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Where the fuck, out?" He spat.

I shrugged. "Not here."

His fist collided squarely with the left side of my face and I collapsed onto the ground. My breathing was heavy and all I wanted was the pain to fade away. I took a breath and stood back up. The anger and rage boiled in my chest like hot water.

Before I knew what I was doing, my hand curled into a fist and my brain sent it rocketing through the air towards him. I hit him in the jaw and he fell back, not expecting retaliation. He stared at me in shock from the floor. Out of anger, and trying to tell myself not to beat the man to death, I sniffed hard and spat on his shoes.

"I'm goin' to take a shower. You best stay here." I told him sternly.

I didn't know what he did, but he didn't follow me and I took my shower in peace, except for the burning pain in my face.


	5. Fallin' Even More in Love with You

[**Author's Note:** I just wanted to say how much I appreciate the feedback I'm getting on this story. I was honestly scared to post it because I thought, 'God, nobody is gonna like this.' But as of my posting this, this story has 5 favorites and 8 followers and I just really want you guys to know it means a lot to me. Thank you so much.] 

* * *

I worked away at the red pickup Jesse and I didn't get to finish the day before. I'd been here since eight this morning. Ralph asked about my face. I didn't tell him how I got it; only that it wouldn't hurt my ability to work. Jesse asked about it too and called me a liar when I told him it wasn't any of his damn business.

"Your girlfriend ain't gonna like that you seem to be pickin' fights." Jesse said at one point.

"I ain't been pickin' no damn fights. Goddammit Jesse, help me with this bolt." I snapped.

He'd laughed and helped me out without another word.

Here we were, almost four hours later. I felt the tap on my shoulder, but I didn't want to turn around and have her see my face. I didn't want to see the disappointed look when she saw the blue and purple colors.

"Hey, you alright? I brought you lunch. Is that okay?" She asked, sounding so wary.

"Yeah. I just gotta get this." I told her, not being specific because I was stalling.

"The fuck are you doin' makin' your girl stand there? Get outta here." Jesse told me.

I was about to snap something back, but the look in his eyes told me I'd best back away from the chassis and face it like a man.

I sighed and turned around, hanging my head. Her finger tips ended up below my chin and I closed my eyes as she guided my face up.

"Oh, Daryl." She barely whispered.

"Ain't nothin'." I told her, taking her hand and lowering my head again so she didn't have to look at it. I led her out to the picnic table and sat the same way we had the day before.

"It's something." She said quietly as she handed me a sandwich.

"I hit him back." I told her, unwrapping my sandwich.

"What'd he do?" She asked quietly.

"Looked like I had a damn third head." I said, feeling a little pride creep into my voice.

She nodded, but was silent.

I didn't know what to say, so I ate my sandwich. She finished hers and carefully folded up the bag before throwing it in the trash. I leaned across the table and gently set my hand on hers. She almost pulled away from me, but slowly took my hand.

"I don't want you to get hurt." She said quietly.

I stood up and moved to sit next to her. "Hey girl. I'm fine." I smiled.

She scoffed. "Half your face is purple."

"I ain't dead." I protested.

She nodded, eyes roving my face. She set her hand on my cheek and her thumb softly rolled over the skin right under my eye. "Blue and purple are not good colors on you."

I shrugged.

Emma sighed. "Please be more careful. I'm begging you."

I nodded, looking her solid in the eye. "I promise."

She seemed to accept my answer and I walked her to her car. She smiled at me, but I knew she was worried. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

I kissed her cheek before opening her door for her. "Have a good day."

I watched her drive away as I walked backwards towards the open bay door.

"Man, you caught you a fine piece of ass. Like to take that into town and-" Andy, one of Jesse's friends started. He paused, seeing the look I was giving him.

"Andy, shut your trap. Ain't you seen the black eye he got beatin' up the last piece of shit to call out his girl like that?" Jesse said, pointing to my face.

"Damn son. My bad. We cool?" Andy said, looking suddenly nervous.

* * *

It took almost a month to get the old gray pickup running. Ralph took pity on me and helped me with the bigger engine stuff that I still hadn't learned. I'd learned a lot, but it wasn't like I could rebuild the block without help.

I'd told Emma not to bring me lunch as we had a meeting over my lunch break, so she'd be bored out of her mind. But I suggested she might want to eat lunch outside, as it was a gorgeous day. She'd scoffed and said the clouds were rolling in, about to storm.

I'd told her it'd be fine, to just enjoy the sunshine while we had it. She'd finally agreed and I smiled to myself. Ralph gave me an extra fifteen minutes for lunch and I took off down the road. Merle had given me driving lessons a couple years ago, I just never had a rig of my own to drive. Now I did. Ralph even helped me get my driver's license.

The old ford rode rough and the radio didn't work, but I thought she was a dream and then some. I rolled her down the road and turned into the familiar parking lot of the high school. I'd stopped at the market and picked up a bundle of roses. I grabbed them as I ducked out of the cab, slamming the Detroit steel behind me as I went.

I scanned the tables in front of the school and was lucky enough to find Emma sitting at one of them by herself, obviously within hearing range of the Barbie Brigade. Emma looked gorgeous, the sun bringing out the hints of other colors in her brunette hair and you could tell her skin was silky soft from halfway across the parking lot. She was leaning over a book, taking a bite of pizza every so often.

"Like, oh my god. What's with hick city over here? And what does he think he's doing with those flowers?" I heard one of the blonde popular girls say loudly.

Emma looked up from her book, in the direction of their table before looking out at the parking lot and me. She paused before smiling at me.

"Hey." I said smoothly. I was covered in sweat and the grease stains on my hands wouldn't wash off anymore, but she looked at me like I was a hero on a white horse.

"Hey." She said with a smile. "Those for me?"

"They sure as hell ain't for any of the bimbos at the other table." I grinned.

Emma smiled and took them happily from my outstretched hand, never sparring a glance at the other table. "They're gorgeous."

"Gorgeous flowers for a gorgeous girl." I told her, kissing her on the cheek.

"So. You bought a truck." She said, obviously meaning for it to be a nonchalant comment.

"Nope." I said and she raised an eyebrow at me. "But I did fix me up a truck."

She smiled. "You did it all yourself?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Ain't done it all by myself. I had help rebuilding the block. It was shit. And the fuel hose was a bitch to hold up on my own."

"Can you drive it legally?" She asked, leaning over as to not be heard.

I pulled out my wallet and showed her the license with my picture on it.

"Daryl Dixon, I'm so proud of you!" She squealed. She came around the table to sit on my lap and hug me around the neck, making me smile.

"It's all your doin' darlin'." I told her, kissing her cheek.

"Oh my god. Couldn't you just puke?" I heard from over my shoulder.

"Ya gotta take that every day?" I asked, giving the blonde girls a glance.

Emma shrugged, climbing off my lap. "I didn't bring you lunch because you said not to come." She said, looking guilty.

I smiled. "I bought food at the store."

"Like, really? She feeds him too. Such a dream guy." One of the girls said sarcastically.

"They make the hair on the back of my neck stand up." I told Emma.

She shrugged. "Everybody's got demons they gotta face."

I shook my head. I didn't like it none. I didn't want them in the same zip code as Emma. "I'll take care of them, just you see."

"Daryl, no fighting. Words or fists." She said, looking at me sharply.

I raised my hands. "Won't say nothing except they're a bunch of two dollars hookers that get overpaid." I said, almost yelling the last part.

Emma giggled and hit me on the arm. "No more."

"Yes ma'am." I said with a nod.

"Don't you have to go soon?" She asked, checking her watch.

"Got me an extra fifteen minutes for lunch. Yes ma'am, I hit the big time." I said with a smile.

Emma grinned and I just wanted to see that smile every day for the rest of my life. "So what's next, Mr. Big Time?"

I thought about it for a minute. "A million dollar house with gold toilets and an on call cook lady."

Emma giggled again. "I was being serious."

"Me too." I grinned. "Nah. Maybe my own place." I shrugged.

"What about graduating?" She asked.

I shrugged. "I'mma a drop out."

"What about getting a GED?" Emma asked me.

I shook my head. "Nah, I ain't smart enough for that."

She hit my arm again. "Yes you are. You just gotta apply yourself."

"You want me to get it?" I asked her. " 'Cause I ain't got no use for it."

"I think you should. But I'm not going to make you." She said.

I nodded as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. "Eight o'clock."

She looked confused as she gathered her stuff. "What?"

"I'm pickin' ya up at eight. We'll go tear up some back roads." I smirked.

She shook her head, giving me a long kiss on the lips before smiling and running off.

I stood up and walked back to my truck, taking a glance around the lot. I found two really nice, newer cars and I could only guess who they belonged to. Luckily for me, one was parked right next to my truck.

I dug a wrench out of the cab and dropped to the ground with a smile as I started wrenching.

* * *

All I got when I sat down the next day to have lunch with Emma was a look. It was hard to describe, but I felt every inch of it. This kind of disapproval mixed with annoyance and somethin' else.

"What?" I asked, sitting down across from her.

"Give it a minute." She said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I mean, seriously? How does a six hundred dollar part fall off my freakin' BMW? Like, he said it wiggled loose or something while I was driving, but whatever. I guess daddy's not so happy. He'll fix it anyway, I know he will." I heard from the table over my shoulder.

I couldn't help but smirk.

"Daryl. You broke into her car." Emma said, her disapproval obvious.

"No I didn't." I told her sternly. "I just crawled under it."

Emma still gave me the disapproving look even after I showed her the frog eyed salad and chips I bought to go with our tuna fish sandwiches.

"I can put it back if ya really want me to." I said finally, defeated. "It never left the floorboard of my truck."

"Why would you take something so expensive off her car?" She asked quietly.

"Because she wouldn't leave ya alone. I can't rightly sock her in the jaw." I told her, dipping a spoon into the salad.

"You don't have to be my hero." She told me.

I looked at her and I felt deflated, because that's all I wanted to be for her. I nodded stiffly. "Aight, I'll put it back."

She set her hand on top of mine. "You don't gotta save me from everybody."

"But I wanna." I told her, looking her in the eye.

She smiled at me, making me feel like I finally said the right thing.

* * *

I was working away, under the hood of a car when two hands snaked around my waist, making me jump. "Hey handsome." A sultry voice whispered in my ear. I couldn't stop the shivers running up my spine.

I wiggled out of her grasp to turn around and hug her. "Hey pretty girl." I said with a smile.

"You know what today is?" Emma asked.

I looked at her for a moment. It wasn't her birthday, we'd celebrated that right after I got out of Juvie. It wasn't any special holiday that I knew of. I shrugged.

She grinned. "Well, fine. Come eat lunch with me." She said, tugging lightly on my hand.

"Yes ma'am." I smiled. "Jesse! I'm goin' to lunch!"

"I best not find you and that girl nekkid out back!" Jesse yelled back.

I smirked, following the brunette out to the picnic table.

Emma set the cooler on the bench next to her and set her book bag on the table. She pulled a parcel out of her bag that was wrapped in some cartoony paper. I narrowed my eyes at her before it dawned on me. I shook my head. "You didn't hafta."

She grinned eagerly. "But I really, really wanted to. Happy Birthday." She said, pushing the package closer to me.

I shook my head, knowing it'd disappoint her more if I didn't open it. I grabbed the thing and tore off the wrapping paper, looking strangely down at the small square box.

"It's a cell phone." She explained, despite the clear cut picture on the front.

I nodded. "I got that. What's it for?"

"Making calls." Emma said with a smirk.

I flicked her arm. "Smart ass. Why'd ya get me one?"

She shrugged. "We've been going steady for almost three months and you don't got a house phone. I wanna be able to get a hold of you."

I smirked. "I ain't living on the other side of the world. Don't live but two miles from each other."

She shrugged again. "What happens if I wanna go to college or somethin'? Ya gonna drive to Atlanta every time you wanna see me?"

I shrugged. Honestly, I'd avoided any topic involving her leaving. I knew she wanted something else. I knew she was better than this hick town. But I selfishly didn't want her leaving me. "Hadn't thought too much 'bout it."

"And!" She said, opening the cooler. She pulled out a Tupperware that contained a single cupcake with the number '18' in bright colored frosting. "You told me you liked vanilla better than chocolate."

I smiled at her, knowing darn well and good she was a better woman than I expected to find my whole life. "You best stop this spoilin' me shit. I might get used to it."

She smiled brightly. "I certainly hope you do."

I shook my head, taking the Tupperware from her. I pulled the paper lining off and tore the mini cake in half, handing her the half with the wrapper.

"You know I made this for you, right?" She asked.

"Ain't worth nothin' if it ain't shared." I told her, popping a piece in my mouth.

She smiled, taking her half of the cupcake and tearing off a piece.

* * *

"I don't get this damn thing." I told her for the tenth time in the last hour.

She giggled. "Green."

I jammed the green button and her house phone started ringing. She picked up her extension and ducked into the closet.

"Can you hear me?" She asked through the receiver.

"I still think I'm too stupid for this." I told her.

"You aren't too stupid. You can do anything." She said, coming back out of the closet and ending the call.

"Well why the hell'd ya hang up on me?" I asked, looking at the small hunk of plastic and metal.

She giggled again. I didn't know why she found me so damn amusing.

"I can't believe your ma let me up here." I said, glancing around her bedroom. It was everything I expected it to be. Orange walls with scraps of lacey fabric hanging from the ceiling covering white Christmas lights. She had a bunch of posters on the walls of rock bands and country singers and movies.

"She didn't like it. But I told her I was seventeen and if I wanted to have a boy in my room, she should accept that." Emma said.

I smirked, knowing she'd never stand up to her ma like that. I didn't blame her. The woman was downright terrifying and I knew some scary folk.

"Guess what?" I asked, pulling her close to me.

She smiled, snuggling up to me. "What's that, cowboy?"

I paused, wondering how to word what I wanted to say. She looked up at my hesitation. "I love you."

She watched me for a moment. "Do you really?"

I grinned. "I do really." I said, kissing her forehead.

Her lips spread out across her face. "Well that's good because I love you too."

I pulled her tighter to me and just wanted this moment to last forever.


	6. Lettin' Go of All I Held Onto

It'd been almost two weeks since I first told Emma I loved her. It felt like I couldn't say it enough. Like if I missed a chance to say it, the world would fall away and I'd be left with nothing. I was a better employee and I'd never been happier.

I was fifteen minutes from clocking out when my cell phone rang. I paused, wondering who'd gotten the number. Emma never called me while I was at work. Something in the pit of my stomach didn't sit right. I walked over to the tool box and glanced at the screen.

Emma's number.

I flicked it open, hoping it wasn't bad news. "Hello?"

I heard sniffling from the other end. "Daryl. I-I know you're at w-work. I-I n-need help." She said, sniffling again.

"What's wrong?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"P-please. J-just come." She said and a rack of sobs covered up the sound of her voice.

"Calm down baby it's okay. Give me five minutes, alright? Count five minutes and I'll be there. Alright?" I asked, propping the phone against my shoulder so I could pull off my work gloves.

I didn't get a response, just a click and the dial tone. "Goddammit it." I muttered. I ran through the shop, dodging the cars and toolboxes.

"Where the hell ya think yer goin'?" Ralph called.

I paused to turn back to him. "Emma's in trouble. I have to leave." I said, gesturing to the door closest to my truck.

He must've believed me because he waved me off.

I ran to the truck, almost jamming the ignition trying to start her up and hauled ass out of the parking lot. It seemed the longest five minutes of my life, navigating town to get to her house. I didn't even turn the truck off as I put it in park and barreled out of the cab.

I didn't stop to knock, just opened the front door and glanced around the kitchen. "Emma!" I yelled, sweeping the kitchen and not seeing her.

"Daryl." I heard weakly from somewhere up the stairs. I took the stairs two at a time and shouldered into the bathroom.

I froze, seeing the sight in front of me.

Emma looked up lazily from the bath tub, tears streaming down her face. Her left arm had a long cut in it and she had soaked two or three towels trying to get it to stop bleeding. "It… it won't stop… bleeding…" She said, her eyes floating open and closed.

I undid my belt and pulled it off, falling to my knees in front of the bathtub. I looped it around her arm, just under the elbow and tied it off, tightly. She winced, but I didn't care. If it was going to save her life, she could cringe all she wanted.

"It's gonna be alright, okay?" I said, trying to keep the panic from seeping into my voice. I threw open the bathroom cabinet and quickly looked for something to tie up a towel with. I grabbed the roll of duck tape and moved back to the tub.

"Hey baby girl. Stay with me. Stay with me." I told her, seeing her eyes slip closed.

"My hero." She said with a weak smile.

I held her arm up and wrapped the cut with a towel, tearing off strips of duck tape to keep it in place. I had four on there before I felt like I could safely move her. I stood up and leaned down. "Wrap your arms around my neck, alright? Hold on fer all you're worth."

A dry laugh escaped her throat. "I ain't worth much."

"Don't say that." I said, readjusting her small frame in my arms. "You're worth the world, ya hear?"

Her head lulled against my shoulder.

"Talk to me. Emma, talk to me." I said, loudly as I descended the stairs.

"Did you know Ursa Major is the big bear?" She asked.

"No, I didn't. Tell me more." I said, kicking open the front door.

"Your truck's running. That's convenient." She said, giving me a small smile.

"Emma baby. Tell me about the stars." I said, readjusting her in my arms to get the truck door open.

"Ursa Minor is the little bear." She said. "He ran away from home."

"Good, that's good." I said, laying her down and closing the door. I ran around the truck and slid in.

She wiggled closer to me, laying her head against my thigh. "And Hera had a dragon to guard the golden apples."

"What was the dragon's name? Did he have a name?" I asked, just wanting her to keep talking to me. If she was talking, she couldn't fall away from me.

"David McAlister. Such a mean dragon." She mumbled.

I felt ice in my lungs. David McAlister. Emma's ex-boyfriend. The one that beat her up while I was in Juvie. "What did David do?"

"Hmm?" She cooed, like she hadn't heard me.

"Emma, tell me what David did." I said, making a corner. The hospital was only another block down the road. I could almost see the signs.

"Said all these mean things a dragon shouldn't say." She said, her eye lid fluttering. "A whore and a hussy and a redneck concubine."

I could see the signs for the hospital. "Alright, don't worry. The dragon won't hurt ya no more." I pulled into the emergency drive through, but Emma just laid there. I ran around to the other side of the truck, pulling her out of the cab.

"Emma. Emma baby, wake up. Somebody's gonna fix you, aight? Tell me about the stars." I said, desperately trying to get her to say something as I shouldered into the ER. "I need help!"

"Stars are pretty." She mumbled against my shoulder.

A nurse ran over with a rolling bed. "What happened?"

"I don't know. She called me from work. I found her in her bathtub covered in blood. I tried to get it to stop." I said, watching her face.

The nurse called to somebody else down the hall in medical terms I couldn't understand.

Her eyes floated open. "My super hero."

"You hang on, ya hear me? You stay awake." I told her and my vision blurred. I realized my eyes were welling up.

"Don't cry, cowboy." She said with a weak smile as they began pushing her through the halls.

I easily kept up, holding her hand. "You stay awake goddammit. Ya hear me?"

"Her blood pressure's dropping!" The nurse yelled to somebody's else.

"No, Emma!" I gripped her hand.

She squeezed back before it fell limp.

A male nurse stopped and told me to go back to the waiting room.

"I can't leave her." I told him, throwing my arm towards where the gurney had disappeared through the swinging doors.

"I understand sir, but you have to let the staff do their job. We'll do our best." He told me.

"You won't do your damned best. You'll save her!" I yelled at him.

"A nurse will come find you when we have her stabilized." He told me, before following the gurney.

My anger soared as I turned away from the swinging doors. I took hold of a section of seating in the waiting room and flipped over a set of three chairs. I knew they weighed a lot, the frames being cast iron, but it didn't faze me. I didn't care about their damn chairs.

A couple of the other people in the waiting room looked startled, but none of them were near the chairs I'd flipped so they could fuck off.

I paused. David. I hadn't even known he was out of jail. I couldn't believe him. He was going to die. I jogged around the over turned chairs and out the door to where my truck was still running. I climbed into the cab and pulled away from the curb. All I could think about was Emma, laying in the tub bleeding out.

I didn't know any of his friends, but I knew he liked to shoot pool. Luckily for me, there was only one bar within fifty miles that had a pool hall. I tried to calm my breathing, but it was a pointless effort. I pulled up in front of the bar and turned off my truck. I got out and rummaged in the bed until I found my lug wrench.

I gripped it tightly, setting my jaw as I pulled open the door. "David McAlister." Were the only words I could spit out of my mouth at the bartender, John.

The bartender knew me well, as my dad frequented the joint. "You aight, Daryl?"

"David McAlister." I told him again.

He tossed the bar rag on his shoulder and threw a thumb to the section of bar at the very back that you could see from the bar, but not from the entrance where I stood.

I ground my jaw, making my way through the maze of pool tables.

"Hey! Look at this! It's little Daryl Dixon!" David said with an arrogant smile to one of his friends.

He didn't get another chance to open his mouth, because I raised my arm and gripped the lug wrench tightly as I swung it at his face. There was a satisfying crack and he went down a second later. I swung it once more, hitting him in the chest with another crack.

I dropped the wrench and grabbed him roughly by the collar. "That's for Emma. And I swear to God, if you even so much as look at my girlfriend again, I will rip your nuts off and make you eat them, and then I'm gonna bury your ass. Are we clear?"

He said nothing except to whimper about his face.

I reached down to grab his sack and gave it a twist. "I said, are we clear?"

He squealed like a girl. "Yes, yes. I'm sorry."

I let him go, roughly slamming his head into the table he was playing at before. I picked up the wrench and looked at the other three guys around the table. "Exact same goes for you shit bags. Ya hear?"

They all quickly nodded and I hefted the wrench onto my shoulder, walking back towards the bar.

John kind of smiled at me. "Never liked the kid anyway. I get ya somethin'?"

I shook my head. "I'm needed at the hospital."

"Bring her by sometime." John said with a nod as I pushed open the door.

* * *

When I got back to the hospital, the chairs I'd flipped earlier still sat overturned. Without a glance to the staff behind the desk, I righted them and put them back where they were before I'd gone postal.

I fell into one of them, hoping I hadn't missed any news about Emma. But something in the back of my head told me even with the miracle of medicine, nothing could fix her in fifteen minutes. I sat for almost another hour until I began pacing a line in front of the chairs.

"Who are you waiting on?" An older lady asked me. She'd been sitting there when I flipped the chairs.

"My girlfriend." I told her, continuing my pacing.

"Sonny, sit down. Ain't no use in worryin'." She told me.

I knew she meant well, but if I didn't get some news soon, I was gonna go stir crazy.

A nurse came out and I paused mid stride. She stopped and looked at a clip board. "Are you the gentleman that brought in Emma Wilson?"

"Yeah doc." I told her, moving closer.

"She lost a lot of blood. It's a miracle you got to her when you did. A couple more minutes and we wouldn't have been able to save her." She told me and I laced my fingers together, pressing on the back of my head. I should have just cut his goddamn balls off.

"That being said, she's in critical condition. We need to give her at least one blood transfusion, possibly even a second." She told me. "Do you know her blood type?"

"B+. Same as me." I told her.

She nodded, writing something on her clipboard. "Would you be willing to give her blood?"

"I'll give ya my heart doc if it'll fix her." I told her sincerely.

She gave me a sad smile and patted my shoulder. "Let's hope it don't come to that."

* * *

I'd finished the blood transfusion without a hitch. I didn't even feel the needle when she poked me. She watched me carefully. "Ya got somethin' to say to me, doc?" I asked, looking up at her.

"I heard you overturned our seating area." She commented plainly.

I nodded. "I fixed 'em though. And I didn't hurt nobody."

She nodded. "I know. I'm just surprised, considering how heavy they are."

I shrugged, not sure what she wanted me to tell her.

"Girlfriend or sister?" She asked.

"Girlfriend." I told her.

"She must mean an awful lot to you." She commented.

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat. "Only person on this godforsaken earth to give two shits about me." I told her, ducking my head to watch the blood drain into a bag. "She made me wanna be somethin'."

The nurse smiled at me. "She'll pull through."

I shook my head. "Don't do that to me doc."

She looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me somethin' jus' 'cause I wanna hear it. Tell me the truth or don't tell me nothin'." I told her.

Her hand set on my shoulder, making me look up. "She's lucky to have someone who cares about her as much as you do."

I nodded and she pulled the needle out of my arm. She put a little square of gauze over it and some soft tape around my arm to hold it in place.

"You can take that off in half an hour." She told me.

I nodded. "That gonna be enough? I got more."

She smiled. "We'll see how she is after this transfusion." She said, holding the door to the exam room open for me.

I nodded and she walked me down the hall and around the corner to the waiting room. I paused, seeing one of David's buddies jog in and stop at the desk, talking to the nurse there. A second later, David came in, somebody on each side of him, holding him up.

His eyes were as big as dinner plates when he saw me. "Security! Security! That's the man that did this to me!" He hollered.

Hospital security headed towards David. "They all saw it, didn't you?" David said, searching their faces through his black eye.

"I didn't see nothin' except you fallin' off the damn pool table." One of his friends said, sparing a glance my way.

"Face first into another one." The other guy added.

"So he," The security guard said, pointing at me. "Didn't hit him?" He asked, pointing at David.

All three of his friends shook their heads and helped him onto a gurney.

"What'd you tell them to keep them quiet?" The nurse asked quietly beside me.

"Told 'em I'd cut their dicks off and shove 'em down their throats." I said plainly.

"Wish I had a guy willing to threaten lives for me." The nurse said jokingly as she turned to leave.

As soon as David was on the gurney and rolling away, his friends all but ran from the ER.

I shook my head, sitting in one of the chairs, lacing my fingers behind my head and setting my elbows on my knees.

I hated waiting.

* * *

I jumped with a start. I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep, but the nurse that gave me the transfusion stood over me, her hand pulling away from my shoulder. I was quick to my feet. "What is it?"

"I just wanted to let you know the transfusion stabilized her. She's still unconscious though." The nurse said.

I let out a breath of air I didn't know I'd been holding. "Can I see her?"

She smiled at me and gestured for me to follow her. She led me up two levels to a room near the elevator. She opened the door for me and I followed her into the room. Emma just laid there, an oxygen mask under her nose and an IV in her arm.

I pulled a chair up next to her bed and gently took hold of her hand. I rubbed small circles on the top of her skin with my thumb. She slowly opened her eyes, looking confused before tilting her head to look at me.

"Hey baby girl." I said, kissing her hand.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Are you feelin' any better?" I asked her.

She nodded. "I'm sorry." She whispered.

"Hey, no. Shush." I told her, kissing her hand again.

"David came to my house and said all these mean things. They just kept bouncing around in my head. And there was a pair of scissors on the bathroom counter." She said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know. Its ok." I told her, gently running my thumb over her cheek.

"You didn't kill him did you?" she asked, looking worried.

I smiled and shook my head. "Nah. He won't hurt you ever again though."

She nodded, looking sleepy.

"Go to sleep, baby girl. I'll be here when you wake up." I told her, standing up to kiss her forehead.

She nodded, closing her eyes. Her breathing evened out after a minute or so.

* * *

Emma had been out of the hospital for a week. It was her first day going back to school. We decided we'd start a rumor that we'd eloped. It was a lot classier than being stuck in the hospital for blood loss due to self-harm.

The doc's stitched her up pretty well though. When the stitches came out, you'd barely be able to see that there was a scar.

I pulled up in front of her house and got out of the truck, heading for the front door. Her mom stopped me before I could even knock. "You turn right around mister. I don't want you near my daughter."

" 'Cuse me?" I asked.

"You heard me. You're a bad influence. I don't want you corrupting her. I told her she should've stayed with that David boy. At least he came from a nice family." She told me sharply.

Her words cut me deeper than I would've liked. I didn't know what to say. I'd known that Emma hadn't told her everything and I didn't blame her. But her ma not knowing anything?

I nodded stiffly. "Aight." I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets and turning around.

"Wait! Daryl!" I heard faintly. I was almost at the truck when I turned around.

Emma was struggling to hop into her shoe. "Ya just gonna leave me?"

"Your ma seems to think that's best." I said, leaning against the bed of the truck.

"Mom. I told you. Daryl's one of the good guys." Emma said.

"I don't care. You're not going anywhere with that boy anymore." Her ma said.

Emma narrowed her eyes at her ma. "Don't go blaming Daryl for somethin' that ain't his fault!" She said.

I never noticed how she had an accent when she got mad. She sounded more like me.

Her ma puffed up her chest and I was reminded of an angry momma bird. "You best put your things in my car. I'll take you to school."

"No. You'll be late for work and I won't ever hear the end of it. I'll see ya later." Emma told her mom, jogging down the walk towards me.

I smiled at her, opening the passenger side door for her before climbing in and starting her up. "She really don't like me none."

Emma sighed. "She doesn't like anybody I don't think."


	7. Standin' Here Until Ya Make Me Move

"Whataya think?" I asked with a smile.

Ralph grinned at me before handing me back the ring. "Boy, ya dun right this time."

I held the small ring between my big fingers. It was a simple, silver ring with a small circle cut diamond in the middle. It wasn't much, but it was all I could afford. "Ya think she'll like it?" I asked Ralph.

Ralph laughed. "She'd like it plenty if ya gave her a ten dollar ring."

I smiled. I put it back in the box and put it in my pocket. "I'm gonna ask her tonight."

Ralph smiled. "Yer a fine kid."

"I gotta get home and change. I'll see ya Monday." I told him, heading for the truck.

I fired it up and trucked on home. I climbed out and was surprised to see Merle's bike in the driveway even though pop's truck was gone. I opened the door to see Merle on the couch.

"Baby brother!" He yelled and I could smell the hops oozing out of his pores.

"How long ya in town?" I asked as he came to give me a hug.

"Long enough." He smiled. "How's that sweet little piece of ass you got?"

"Emma's fine." I told him, kicking off my shoes.

"How come ya never bring her 'round?" Merle asked.

" 'Cause you're in town every time ya ask." I told him. I was dead set against Emma meeting Merle. That was the last thing I needed.

Merle laughed and slapped me on the shoulder, going back to the couch to watch whatever game was on.

I headed up the stairs and made sure he hadn't followed me before stuffing the ring box in my pillow. I wasn't taking any chances that Merle might find it. I hopped in the shower and washed off as much dirt and grease as I could before drying off and dressing in nicer clothes. I put the ring box back in my pocket and was glad it was easily hid there.

I went back downstairs and loaded the picnic basket I'd bought with stuff for sandwiches and a box of snack cakes. I didn't even give Merle time to ask where I was going and I was already in my truck, backing out of the driveway.

When I got to Emma's house, I turned off the truck and climbed out. I put the ring box in the basket so it wouldn't show through my pants and headed up the walkway.

She opened the door before I could knock and I was frozen in place. She had a gorgeous little white sun dress with these little red flowers on it and her hair pulled back away from her face.

I grinned at her. "Ain't you a pretty lil' thing?"

"You're not so bad lookin' yourself." She smiled at me.

I held out my elbow for her. "M'lady."

She smiled, taking my arm. "Why, thank you kind sir."

I led her down to the truck and opened the door for her before climbing in behind the wheel. I pulled away from her house and we ended up in the middle of a field. I put it in park and as I climbed out, I grabbed the picnic basket and a blanket. I stuffed them under my arm, taking her hand.

We walked for a short ways before I put down the basket and threw out the blanket. She smiled at me as she sat down. I pulled out the stuff for the sandwiches to make sure she didn't see the ring box. We'd finished dinner and were just sitting there in the quiet when I decide it was as good a time as any.

"Emma. Can I ask ya somethin'?"

"Of course." She said.

I nodded, trying to think over how to word my request. "Ya know I love ya, right?"

I saw concern dance across her face. "Of course, Daryl. I love you too." She said, takin' my hand.

I nodded again, biting my lip. "I know I never asked you out proper and I apologize for that. But I love ya more than my own life. 'Cause my own life don't mean jack if you aren't in it with me. I wanted to know if you'd be my wife." I told her, pulling the ring box out of the basket and opening it.

Her hand covered her mouth and for a split second, the fear of God was put in me. I didn't know if she was gonna say yes or no. Her eyes shined as the sun went down behind us. She nodded her head. "Yes." She said, with a smile. "I will."

I felt like my grin went from ear to ear. I pulled the ring out of the box and slid it onto her ring finger on her left hand. "You make me the happiest man in the world." I told her, wrapping my arms around her.

* * *

I sighed. It'd been almost a month since I asked Emma to marry me. But lately, it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. No, lately it was fights. It'd been three days. Three days of non-stop fighting. Each day was somethin' different and it was startin' to piss me off. First it was because she was headin' off to college. I didn't care that she was goin' to college. I was proud of her. But my dumbass said something wrong and now I was in trouble.

The second day, it was because she said I was flirting with my old girlfriend. I wasn't flirting with her. I was bein' civil, like she kept tellin' me to be. I didn't even like that girl no more. I knew she'd slept with Merle at least twice and I wouldn't have touched that with a ten foot pole.

Today it was because she'd finally met Merle. She'd stood up to Merle from the get-go and I was damn proud. Most girls either swooned over him or crossed the street to avoid him. Emma stood there and told him to stop bein' a damn pig. I almost kissed her. But then she turned on me and said I was doin' the same damn thing.

I couldn't win for nothin'. I was battin' damn near a thousand.

I sighed, leaning my head against the steering wheel. She'd just gotten out of the truck and slammed the door behind her, huffing up her walkway.

Quickly, I got out of the truck and ran after her, catching her just before she got to the door. "Mere." I told her.

She stopped and turned back around. "No."

I sighed, closing the distance between us. "What?"

"What do you mean, _what_?" She spat.

I rolled my eyes. "Stop beatin' 'round the bush. Tell me what's wrong."

"If ya can't figure it out, I ain't tellin' ya!" She said, her accent getting thick.

My blood was boiling. "Goddammit it woman. You best stand there and tell me what you damn well want to tell me."

"Or what?" She asked venomously.

"There ain't no goddamn or what. Say what you fuckin' wanna say!"

"I hate you!" She shouted.

"Then you best tell me why!" I shouted back.

She narrowed her eyes. "You're exactly the same."

I sighed loudly. "As what? Exactly the same as what goddamn thing?"

She turned around to walk away from me. I grabbed her arm, pulling her back to me. She spun around and knocked my hands off her.

I stood there in shock.

"Don't you dare touch me." She said through her teeth.

"I'll touch you as I damn well please. You're the one who wanted to take my name." I told her loudly.

Her eyes showed fire and I'd obviously said the wrong thing to turn this conversation around. She took the ring off her finger and threw it at me.

I let it bounce off my chest and land on the ground.

She went to walk away from me again and I grabbed her arm again. She spun around, hitting me square in the chest. I tried to grip her tighter without hurting her as I pulled her close to my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and grabbed my own wrist to hold her tight against me.

"Let me go!" She screamed, thrashing against me. "Let me go!"

"Not until you calm your ass down and we talk about this." I said in her ear.

Another minute of thrashing and she all but deflated in my arms. I sank to my knees and pulled her into my lap as she started crying. I rubbed circles on her back, shushing her.

"I don't want to leave you." She said through her tears.

"I know, baby." I whispered.

She shook her head. "I don't need school."

"Yes you do, baby girl. You wanted this since I met you. You're gonna go." I told her, rocking her back and forth.

"I can't leave you, Daryl." She said.

I felt my heart breaking in two pieces. "Yes you can."

"Come with me." She said suddenly, like she'd just thought of it.

I'd thought about it so much, I already knew my response. "I don't have enough money, baby. I gotta keep workin'. Then I'll have enough to buy us a house and a playground for our lil' Dixons." I told her with a soft smile.

Her eyes were bright and a tear spilled over. I wiped it away with my thumb.

"You know you gotta go on and get. I'll be here when ya get back." I told her with the best smile I could manage.

The tears overtook her again and I pulled her close to my chest, rocking her back and forth on her front lawn.

* * *

I sat in my truck in front of her house. I didn't think I could do this. I couldn't just let her leave, let her walk away like this. But I knew I had to. She opened the door and watched me through the screen door. I took a deep breath before I climbed out of the cab.

I wasn't this strong. I couldn't do this. But I squared my shoulders and walked up her drive with my hands in my pockets.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Hey." I said, unable to look in her eyes.

"You alright?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"I uh… I wanted to give this back to you." She said quietly.

I looked up enough to see what was in her outstretched hand. There, glistering in the midday sun, between her fingers was a simple silver band with a lone diamond in the middle. I cleared my throat to push down the lump. I wasn't no pussy ass bitch. I wasn't gonna cry like one. I just shook my head.

"Daryl. Please." She said, sounding like she was pleading.

I took a breath and reached out to close her hand around the ring. "You best keep it. If you come back to me; it'll still be yours. If you don't and ya ever get in trouble, it's good for a couple hundred bucks."

She shook her head and her eyes were shining. "I can't keep it, Daryl. It's yours."

I knew if she started crying, I'd break. My resolve would crack and I'd be done. I took another breath, pushing my nerves down. "Nah, darlin'. It's yours." I told her, kissing her forehead and turning tail, heading back for my truck.

From the driver's seat, I glanced back at her one more time to see her duck her head as her tears started. And this time, this one time, I couldn't ease her pain.

* * *

It felt like it was burning a hole in the back of my pocket. Merle had gone out to get the mail today and brought it back in. He laughed and called me a fairy for getting mail from a girl.

I told him to shut the fuck up and I took the letter before he had a chance to open it. She'd be finishing up with her school year pretty soon. We hadn't talked much, just once in a while. It was hard to talk to her without saying 'I love you' or 'come back home.'

I knew she had to do her own thing. I was makin' good money at the garage, so I had no reason to leave. We'd never officially broke up, but I thought of it as when we started dating. We never said the words out loud, but we both knew where we stood.

Climbing out of the cab, I laid the envelope on my seat, figuring I could read it at lunch or on my way home. Work was slow all day. We had an import come in for a tourist who thought he was the shit. We shut him down real quick, fixed his rig and got him on his way again. He cussed us out, sayin' he wasn't ever comin' back.

It wasn't no loss in our book. We were all glad to see him go.

I sighed, climbing back into the cab of the truck as the sun fell. I saw the letter and sighed. I might as well get it over with. I took out my pocket knife and cut the fold open. I pulled out the piece of paper and read it in the receding daylight.

For all intents and purposes, I knew what the letter was going to say, or so I thought. But what came with the letter burned me to my core. She told me how she missed being my friend, missed seeing me. But she'd found somebody else, some jerkoff from the city.

I wasn't too surprised as far as that went. But holding the wedding invitation in my hand, I felt anger and betrayal.

A goddamn wedding invitation. Like I could ever sit there and watch her take another man's last name. I got back out of the truck and leaned against the bed. I hadn't expected news this bad or for it to hit me this hard.

Automatically, my fingers found their way around a silver shaft of metal and I tugged the lug wrench out of the bed. I could feel the anger building. I gripped the wrench like a bat and swung as hard as I could at the truck. Again and again and again…

I fell to my knees, feeling deflated and limp. I hung my head, breathing heavily.

"Ya aight Daryl?" Jesse asked tentatively. The guys in the shop knew well enough by now that when I was mad, ya left me the hell alone.

It took me a minute to gather my voice. "She's gone, Jesse."

"Whatchu mean, gone?" He asked.

"Goddamn wedding invitation." I told him, struggling to my feet and handing him the embossed blue paper with my left hand, as I couldn't feel my right anymore.

He glanced over it before handing it back. "Ya going?"

"Fuck no, I ain't goin'." I told him, crumbling up the nice paper and throwing it into the cab.

* * *

"The fuck are you watchin'?" I called to Merle from the kitchen.

"Some freak ate a dude's face off in New York." Merle called back.

I picked up two pieces of pizza onto my plate and returned to the couch. "His face?"

"Yeah. Guess he was all hopped up on them bath salts or somethin'. Nobody's got a clue." Merle said, taking a swig of his beer as I placed one of the pieces of pizza on his plate.

"Bath salts." I scoffed.

"Hey. Wonder if it's them walking dead types. They eat faces." Merle said, seeming to agree with himself.

"Merle, ain't no walking dead types. What's dead stays dead." I told him, taking a bite of the pizza.

* * *

Merle was right. I'd never tell him to his face, but he was smug enough to know what I wasn't sayin'. We sat in my pickup on the I-75 south, heading towards Atlanta. I had no clue how far we were, but traffic was at a stop. Had been for nearly an hour.

The news told us it was a virus of some kind. I hadn't heard of anythin' that was of the face eating kind, but Merle was damn smug about it. So we both packed a bag and his motorcycle into my truck and headed towards Atlanta. They told us it was safe there. But here Merle and I sat, on the outside lane of a divided highway. I climbed out of the cab and slammed the door as hard as I could, making the truck rock a little bit.

"Easy, little brother. You're gonna flip the damn thing." Merle said with a smile.

Damn his arrogance. I'd sock him square in the jaw if I didn't know he was damn right.

"I'm sick of sittin' here. We ain't goin' nowhere." I told him, pacing.

"Have you heard anything?" An old lady asked, from the car I was pacing next to.

"Would I be pacin' like a goddamn caged dog if I had heard somethin'?" I snapped.

She looked startled and rolled up her window.

Suddenly there was a little convoy type of cars driving on the grassy shoulder of the road, heading in the direction we came from. I stepped out in front of them, waving 'em down. An old motorhome was the lead of the convoy. It slowed down and a blonde girl with long hair popped out of the passenger side.

"Where the hell ya'll goin'?" I asked.

"There's a group of us going down to the quarry to camp for the night so we don't have to be stuck in this traffic jam." She informed me.

"You and your friend are welcome to follow." The old guy in the driver's seat said over the girls' head.

I nodded. "Think we'll do that then." I told him, going to get back in my truck.

"What the shit they think they're goin'?" Merle asked, watching the cars pass us.

"Ol' rock quarry. And we're followin' 'em." I told him, turning the ignition and backing up.

"Why the fuck we followin' 'em?" Merle asked.

"You wanna sit your sorry ass here, I'll pull over and you're pussy ass can get out." I told him, pulling out onto the grass.

"Fine. But I bet we could rob 'em blind. Might have some nice stuff in that RV of theirs." Merle said, shrugging like he came up with the idea.

I shook my head at him, following the line of cars down to the rock quarry.


	8. Hangin' By a Moment

**[Author's Note: I am SO so sorry. i thought I'd updated sooner than my last, but I've been fighting off a cold and I'm stunch on the couch all day today, so there will be a good couple chapters posted.**

**Alright, so this picks up in the second season. I tried to aim it for towards the end of season two. Everything doesn't follow the exact pattern, but I have a hard time exactly rewriting other people's works, i.e. TWD Season 2. As always, if you read, please review to let me know what you think. Thanks.]**

* * *

Merle was gone. I was sure the son of a bitch wasn't dead. All we found was his hand. He was out there somewhere

The CDC in Atlanta was a bust. We 'bout got blown up.

We'd lost Sophia, found refuge on a farm, and discovered they had walkers in their barn, including Sophia.

I even got shot in the head for my efforts in the search. It was a graze. Andrea mistook me for a walker. But gettin' shot is gettin' shot. And I didn't care much for it.

I'd spent the first night after I woke up in Hershel's house. The next night I moved back out to my tent.

That day, we'd found walkers in Hershel's barn. He thought they were just sick, like he could cure 'em somehow. I thought he was a crazy old man. I knew better. Once you got bit, there wasn't nothing you could do.

I thought back to the time in high school when I was dating Emma. I never heard from her after she sent me her wedding invitation. I'd thrown it in the trash that very night. I'd thought about her too, when the outbreak happened. But she'd been in Savannah and it wasn't anywhere close to Atlanta, wasn't anywhere close to here.

I sighed, rolling over to face the tent mouth. I missed her more than I'd wanted to say or even think about. Damn near ten years after I got that stupid piece of fancy blue paper and I still thought about her like she'd left the day before.

Bet she didn't think about me none. Hell, I bet she didn't even remember me. She married some rich guy from the city. I always knew she was too good for me, but I still hoped.

Sleep came and went that night. I rolled over, again facing the tent mouth as the sun peaked up over the horizon. I sighed, sitting up. I pulled on a shirt and tied on my boots. I grabbed my crossbow and unzipped the tent, zipping it back up as I stepped out into the early morning air. I decide to go hunting, see what I could round up.

I tiptoed up towards camp and grabbed two peaches. I ate one as I walked through the field and into the forest and tucked the other in my backpack.

The woods were a sort of safety to me, despite the dangers it now faced. Walkers were crawling these woods and I figured by now they'd have scared off most of the big game. I was sure I could find more squirrels or rabbits though.

With my crossbow in hand, doing a scan of the area in front of me, I advanced away from the farm. Hunting alone like this was a relief. Nobody jackin' their jaw or stompin' their feet. I was on top of my game in this realm. It was like a whole other world out here by myself. I took a deep breath, seeing if I could pick up the stench of a Walker.

Nothing passed my nose except the crisp, gentle breeze that blew through the wooded area. This was one of the few times I was thankful I hadn't had a shower in a few days. Even if my scent was down wind of something, it probably wouldn't get spooked.

The sun was high in the sky by the time I saw anything interesting. A buck, not fifty yards north of me. It was on the smaller side; three points on one side and two on the other. I checked to make sure my bolt was secure on the track and made sure I had decent footing.

The deer looked up lazily like it didn't have a care in the world. I waited until he wandered a few yards closer to me and I took careful aim. With a gentle squeeze of the trigger, the arrow found its place in the deer's lungs and it took off for all it was worth.

I restrung the bow and placed a bolt on the track, quickly following the blood trail. I was damned if I was gonna let another freak face eat my meat. The deer only got another forty yards before I found it in the bushes, heaving its breath. I quickly put another arrow through its head, ending the pain it was in. I pulled my arrows out of the deer and cleaned them quickly on the grass.

Pulling out my hunting knife, I quickly field dressed the deer. I then wrapped it in a blanket I kept in my pack, just in case. I slung the deer across my shoulders and picked up the bow, making sure I could still use it if I needed to.

I hadn't realized how far from the camp I'd gotten. And even though I'd field dressed the deer so it was missing all guts, it still had to weigh a hundred and twenty pounds. By the time I got back to camp and threw the deer on the grass next to the camp site, I was exhausted.

"How far you carry that thing?" Shane asked, looking over at me.

" 'Bout two miles." I told him, taking a swig of the water that Lori handed me.

"Well geez man. Makin' the rest of us look bad out here." T-Dog told me.

I waved it off. I wasn't trying to look good as much as I wasn't trying to make nobody else look bad. I was just huntin'.

"Rest a minute. I'll bring you one of those big serving trays." Carol said, handing me a sandwich. I hadn't realized how late it was, but I accepted the food. I quickly finished the sandwich and Carol brought back one of the trays, handing it to me.

I took out my hunting knife and started cutting away, carving up the beast. Rick came to help and through helping, decided half the meat would be ours and we'd give the other half to Hershel's people as a peace offering.

When I finished getting as much meat off as possible, along with the edible organs, T-Dog helped me dig a hole to bury the smell of the animal. We dug it almost seven foot deep, having to get help to climb back out before we pushed the carcass in and covered it with dirt. By the time that was all done, the sun was starting it's decent in the sky.

Shane had started a fire and was roasting some of the deer meat on a spit. Everybody decided now was a good time to thank me for the catch. I brushed it off, ignoring them. I didn't do it for them; I did it for me. They just got the benefit of the harvest.

Not for the first time lately, my mind wondered to a girl I should've forgotten a long time ago. I shook my head, hearing Merle's voice in the back of my head, telling me to stop being a pussy. God, I missed that pain in the ass. I had pretty much zoned out most of the conversation until Rick stood up.

"We need supplies." Rick told us, standing up in front of the fire.

"The best we could hope for is to take a small group into town and get some things." Lori added.

I glanced at Glenn. Glenn usually took somebody else with him on his runs. The Korean was good at getting in and out.

"I'll go." He volunteered. He always did. I thought Glenn was brave like that.

Rick nodded. "You'll have to take someone with you."

"I'll go with him." I volunteered.

The group looked at me. I wasn't always the first to volunteer and I knew it. But that was before I really knew I needed this group. I knew we had to watch out for each other now more than ever.

Rick nodded. "Alright, then it's decided. Make a quick run first thing in the morning. Try for some of the houses in the area. Any food or supplies you can gather up."

Glenn and I nodded. "We'll take the car. It's quieter than the bike." Glenn said.

The noise was the best part of the bike. But I silently agreed. After we worked out the details, everybody went back to talking about what they'd been talking about before and I rolled my eyes. I didn't say anything to anybody as I stood up and headed for my tent, crossbow over my shoulders.

I had realized how much I'd needed the group, how important I was around here. But that didn't mean I was buddies with any of 'em. And even if I could manage to spit out half the amount of words anybody else did, it wasn't like anybody was listenin'. The world went to shit, but that didn't mean anybody else cared.

Crawling into my sleeping bag left a lot to be desired. I hated sleeping alone. I missed the company of a good woman. And without meaning to, my mind drifted to a time long ago when I could curl up with a pretty girl in the bed of my truck and all she wanted from me where the arms she was already wrapped up in.

"Do you miss me?" She said with a shy smile.

I grinned. "Of course, baby girl. Every day."

"I would've made a good Mrs. Dixon." She mused, looking down at the sparkling ring on her left hand.

My smile grew. "The best ever."

She giggled and I kissed her deeply.

"Daryl." She said softly.

"Hmmm?" I asked, turning to look over at her.

"Daryl!" She said louder. She faded away and I snapped out of it. I grabbed my crossbow and aimed it at the tent opening.

Glenn backed up from the opening, raising his hands. "Sorry man. You were out cold."

I sighed, setting the bow in my lap. I didn't even remember falling asleep. "Ya ready?" I asked.

Glenn nodded, watching me carefully.

"Spit it out." I said angrily, pulling on a shirt and my jacket and tying my boots.

"Who's Emma?" He asked.

"Fuck you. Get outta my tent." I told him, pushing myself to my feet. I zipped my shit up in the plastic and nylon enclosure.

"Sorry man." Glenn said quietly.

I shook my head. I'd gone ten damn years without so much as saying her name and Glenn went and broke my streak. Fucker. I still glowered as we grabbed some breakfast and loaded up the cars. I sat quietly in the passenger seat as Glenn drove us into town. I knew I should apologize. There was no way the kid could possibly know how much she meant to me.

"I'm sorry." Glenn said again after a nearly five mile silence.

"Forget it. She ain't nothin' anymore." I said.

"She get bit?" Glenn asked.

I shook my head. "Worse. Married."

Glenn smirked like he could understand what I was saying. We were silent again as we pulled up to a house. We got out and did a sweep of the main level before taking the top floor. We raided the kitchen for whatever we could find, which wasn't much. We got two cans of tuna and a can of beans.

We raided four more houses, only having a small bag of canned food, a pick axe, and a baseball bat to show for our efforts. We headed back to the farm and quickly unloaded our cargo.

Camp workings continued the same way they always did. Carol and Lori went about laundry. Andrea sat on top of the RV with Dale and Rick, T-Dog, Shane and I did rotating field watches. It was a pretty quiet day overall.

I was stuck with T-Dog this time. It wasn't that I didn't like him; he just never shut up. "What do you think, Daryl?" He asked.

I had no freakin' idea what he was talking about. "Yeah, man. Same here." I said, wondering if that would keep him quiet.

"Man, you ain't listened to a word I said since we left the farm." He told me.

I didn't agree or disagree. I just knew he talked more than my liking. Just like pop used to say, just 'cause you had a sixth toe on one foot, didn't mean everybody had to know about it.

A twig snapped and I raised my crossbow, scanning as T-Dog held up his knife. "Rabbits." I said, seeing the tracks all over the ground. We must be near a den. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye, swung my bow around and shot.

"Man, you ever gonna teach me to do that?" T-Dog asked.

"When you get your own bow, yeah." I said, pulling my arrow out of the male rabbit and wrapping a rope around its neck to string over my shoulder. Days like this made me miss Merle. We weren't supposed to be hunting for food, per say. But we needed the food anyway. Merle was better at big game; deer and elk. I did better with squirrel and rabbits.

I set the crossbow on the ground to restring it, setting a bolt on the track.

"You hear about Lori's thing?" T-Dog asked.

He should know by now I didn't listen to nothin' anybody said unless it was to my face.

"Lori's pregnant." T-Dog said, without waiting for me to answer.

"How do ya know that?" I asked offhandedly, scanning the woods.

"My grandma she has The Sight. She could tell. I just got a feelin', man." T-Dog said.

I shook my head. What a load of shit.

* * *

Hershel was gone. Maggie said she found an old flask of his laying on the bed when he hadn't drank in years. She was freaking out, everyone else was freaking out. I was pretty sure he went into town to get a drink from the bar, but what did I know? I guess Beth was getting sick from the whole thing. Somebody said she'd fallen ill.

Rick told the group he was going to go after him and like always, Glenn volunteered to go with him. They took off a short time later. I sighed. Why the hell were we goin' after the farmer? He didn't even want us here.

It'd been a couple hours and Lori was gettin' worried. She didn't even have to say nothin'. I saw how she kept glancing up the driveway. I shook my head, going about collecting fire wood.

Lori flittered in and out of the house and to tell ya the truth, she was startin' to get on my nerves. The woman needed to sit still for a few minutes.

"Beth's getting worse. We need Hershel." Lori said and lookin' up, I realized she was talkin' to me.

"So?" I asked.

"So. Someone needs to go get them." Lori told me.

I shook my head, remembering all the time and energy I spent into looking for Sophia, only to find out she was in the barn the whole time. "I'm done lookin' for people."

Lori looked frustrated, walking away from me. I went to check on the guns. I didn't think they really needed checkin', but I needed to do something with my hands.

A little while later, we were gettin' ready to sit down to dinner when somebody made a comment about Lori not being there. Carol looked at me, as if I knew anythin'.

"She wanted me to go after Rick and Glenn. I told her I was done lookin' for people. She musta gone by herself." I told her.

Shane stood up and headed for the car.

"What are you going?" Dale asked.

"To get Lori." He called before getting in the car and driving away.

He wasn't gone too long when the car pulled back up. Lori had a cut on her forehead and you could see bruises on her arms. She got out of the car and searched the crowd of us standing here.

"Where's Rick?" She asked.

We all stayed quiet, confused as to why Shane hadn't told her he wasn't back yet.

Lori turned back to Shane, who had propped himself up against the car, his gaze fixated on the gravel under his boots. "Where's Rick? You said he was back."

"I'm sorry, Lori. I had to get you back here. I was worried about you and the baby." Shane said.

If looks could kill, Shane would have dropped on the spot. T-Dog nudged me, but I waved him off.

"You're pregnant?" Carl asked.

"Carl, buddy. I'm so sorry. I thought she had told you." Shane said, glancing from him to Lori and the rest of us. "I thought he knew."

Lori took Carl and walked over to their tent. Shane just looked at each of us, as if daring to defy him. I'd sock him in the goddamn jaw if he said anything.

I shook my head at him, slinging the crossbow over my shoulder and walking off towards my tent. If I couldn't do anything else, I was gonna see if I could catch me some squirrels. I started a fire and set off into the woods, still in view of my tent.

I took down three within the first half an hour. I was content with that, heading back to the fire. I hung 'em up and skinned 'em, throwing the skin and guts into the fire. The burning dead smell did a good job at hiding the human odor.

After I'd roasted some squirrel meat, I let the fire die enough to where I could stomp it out and headed for my tent. I crawled into the sleeping bag, feeling the incoming chill of the night. I huddled close to myself, feeling more alone than I'd felt in a long time. I sat up and punched my pillow before laying back down.

Sleep settled gently over me like a warm blanket.

I found myself in a field, much like the one I used to go to with Emma. She laid sprawled out on the ground, her long hair splayed out around her head like a halo. She was gazing up at the stars with a gorgeous smile when I walked up.

She turned her head to look at me. "My hero."

I shook my head. "Nah, darlin'. S'all you."

She grinned. "Do you want to hear about the stars?"

I smiled, falling to my knees in front of her. "All of them."

"Every single one?" She asked and her voice was dreamy.

I nodded.

"Will you still be my hero when I don't look this pretty anymore?" She asked, worry caressing her beautiful features.

"I'd love you if you wore a gunny sack and pink hair." I smiled.

She grinned, leaning forward to kiss me.

"Daryl." She whispered gently. Then drew back her fist and punched me.

I sat upright in bed, drawing my hunting knife on instinct.

There was nothing in the tent, nobody. I glanced around, but the sun was just barely starting to come up. I groaned, laying the knife down. I pulled my denim jacket over my shoulders and rubbed my hands over my face. I sheathed the knife and realized I hadn't even kicked out of my boots.

Grabbing my crossbow, I walked up towards the main section of camp. Everybody seemed to be up, and as I glanced towards where the cars and motorcycle were, I noticed the car that Glenn and Rick left in hadn't come back.

"Daryl, thank goodness!" Dale said, coming over to me.

Days like today made me miss having coffee.

"We're trying to get a group together to go into town. Rick and Glenn haven't come back with Hershel yet. We need to organize a search party." Dale said, a lot faster than I'd wanted him to.

"We need to go after them." Lori expressed.

I nodded. I didn't really like the sheriff much, but he'd earned my respect and that meant somethin' to me.

A few minutes later, as we were ironing out plans for going into town, the car with Rick, Glenn and Hershel pulled up. We stood, coming over to the car; except there were two other bodies in the back of the car that I could clearly see through the windshield.

"The hell is this?" Shane yelled, seeing the two people blindfolded.

"We got pinned down in the bar. The kid jumped off the roof and he impaled him leg on the fence. We couldn't just leave him there." Rick said.

"What? Are you crazy?" Shane asked loudly.

"We'll fix him up and drop him somewhere that he can fend for himself." Rick said.

"He's just gonna run back to his group that shot at you and tell them exactly where we are. This is gonna start a war." Shane said.

"I'd like to remind you that this is my farm and while you're staying here, you need to keep your mouth shut." Hershel said.

"What about the girl?" I asked, gesturing to the car. There was a second body in there and I could definitely see the outlines of boobs.

"She was standing right there with him. We figured she was part of the group." Glenn said with a shrug.

"She say who she was?" I asked, curiosity piqued.

"Nah. She just cussed us out. The kid's name is Randall, though." Glenn said, glancing back.

I nodded.

After much debate, it was decided. Hershel would sew up the kid's leg and Rick and Shane would drop him and the girl off twenty or so miles out of town. Still blindfolded, Hershel and Maggie sewed Randall up right fast and they were off again.


	9. Forgettin' All I'm Lackin'

The car came screaming back up the driveway a couple hours later. Shane got out in a huff, slamming the car door behind him. Randall and the girl were still blindfolded in the back seat.

"What happened?" Dale asked as Rick got out of the car.

Rick sighed. "He went to school with Maggie. He knows where we are."

"I told you we shoulda just shot him." Shane said.

"You can't just take an innocent life like that!" Dale protested.

"What about the girl?" Lori asked.

"She won't say anything." Rick said.

"Unless she's callin' us pig faced motherfuckers." Shane said with a stupid smile.

"She did say she wasn't part of Randall's group though." Rick said.

"But we have no way of knowing that. She could just be turning her back on him since shit hit the fan." Andrea said.

"I'm going to talk to Hershel about holding them in the slaughter shed until we can figure out what to do with them." Rick said, heading into the house. He came back a few minutes later with approval.

Shane went around and dragged the girl out of the car. I opened the door and got the kid out. He was limping pretty bad, but the way Hershel had told the story, most of the muscles in his calf got ripped. I was surprised he could walk.

We were half way to the slaughter house when Shane threw the girl on the ground. "I said, stop your squirmin'!" He picked her back up and she was much more compliant. We got them both into the slaughter house and sat them in different corners.

Shane pulled the burlap bags off both of them and just stood there. He glanced at me, nodding before he left.

I squatted down and pulled off Randall's gag. "You best tell me what I wanna know. She part of your group?" I asked, nodding my head to the girl in the other corner.

Randall quickly nodded. "Yeah, she's been with us a while."

I heard her moving around and suddenly her foot was in Randall's face.

I stood up, pulling her back into the corner.

She was yelling through her gag, thrashing around. A spare piece of rope in the corner helped me tie her to the wall.

"I'm thinkin' she don't much agree with you." I told Randall.

I could see the fear in Randall's eyes. "Ok, ok. She's only been with us a little while. Maybe a month."

The girls' boots landed heavily on the floor and I figured if she could get free, she'd be kicking him again.

I drew back my fist and punched him in the face. "Is she part of your group?"

"Well, I mean… she might…" Randall sputtered.

The girl kicked her boots against the wood floor again. I saw her struggle against her bonds, trying to get closer to Randall.

I hit him again.

"Okay, okay." He said, his lip starting to swell. "She's not part of it. The group I was with is heavily armed. There's like 30 of them. The other guys though. We stumbled onto this group of a couple girls. I mean, the guys, they hurt them. They beat and raped them I guess. But I ain't like that! I ain't like that!"

I hit him again, just for good measure before I pulled the gag back into his mouth.

The girl's chest heaved, probably from trying so hard to kick Randall.

I kneeled down and pulled her gag off. "Are you part of his group?"

She shook her head.

"Then what happened?" I asked.

She watched me carefully for a minute. "You're gonna kill me anyways. What does it matter?"

Something about her almost seemed familiar. "I ain't gonna kill ya unless ya don't start talkin'."

She glanced at Randall. "I was alone. I was trying to get some supplies from a gas station across the street. I saw the kid fall on the fence. I ran over to try and help him because he was screaming. There were freaks in the alley. The cop and the Chinese kid saw me and assumed I was with him."

"He's Korean." I said simply.

"Whatever, I don't speak stir fry." She said.

I smiled. She was a sassy little thing. "Where ya from then?"

She paused. "North of here, almost to Tennessee."

I immediately thought back to Willisburg, before the attack. And then my eyes drifted from her face to her neck line. I didn't know why, but my gaze drifted. There, on a silver chain in silver letters, was a name I'd never be able to forget. It left my lips unintentionally.

She looked up at me with fear in her eyes, probably that I was going to do the same thing to her that I'd done to Randall.

I looked into her eyes for a long moment. "Emma." I said it again.

There was confusion swirling in her eyes with a little bit of fear. "You… say it like you know me."

I nodded, not sure what to do. I untied her from the wall and pulled her to her feet.

"What… what are you doing?" She asked and it cut me deep. The amount of fear in her voice…

I pulled her out of the slaughter shed, closing it behind us. I turned her around so she could look at me. "Ya cut your hair." I couldn't help the observation. It was above her shoulders and choppy, like she'd cut it herself. Last time I saw her, it was hip length.

It took her just a moment, but recognition dawned on her face and the fear disappeared. "They kept pulling on it, the walkers." She said quietly, as if any louder would break some taboo.

I never really liked girls with short hair, but I didn't know what it was about it; maybe it was just the fact it was on her, and she would've looked gorgeous without any hair at all. I slowly reached up to touch the ends of it, completely forgetting any anger I'd held towards her the last time I had contact with her. "I didn't think you'd make it out."

She kind of smiled. "Barely did."

"Your husband make it?" I felt the words come out of my mouth like razor blades.

"Didn't get married." She said and I felt like a weight was lifted from my chest. "Night before the wedding, I found him hip high in my roommate."

"His loss." I said, turning her around and cutting her bonds.

"You don't think I'm gonna just run away?" She asked with a small smile.

"It wouldn't be the first time." I said before I could stop myself.

Her smile disappeared and she hung her head. "I was cruel to you, Daryl."

I shook my head. "Everybody leaves ya. You just left faster than I'd hoped." I said, sticking my hunting knife in its sheath.

"Daryl, I-" She started.

"What the hell is this?" Shane roared.

She moved so that she was behind me, putting me between Shane and Rick.

"She ain't with him. She was on her own when she saw him fall off the roof. She went over to help him when you showed up." I relayed.

"And how can you know that for sure?" Shane said.

"She wouldn't lie to me." I told him sternly.

"Daryl. Why'd you cut her loose?" Rick asked slowly.

"She's a friend from home. She don't need to be locked in the slaughter shed with trash like Randall." I said, then relayed what Randall had told me about his group.

"You can't be sure she wasn't a part of that." Shane said.

"Yes I can be." I told him, taking a step forward.

"Hey. Stop." Emma said quietly from behind me. She moved to stand next to me. "I've been on my own a long time. I was just trying to get some supplies from the gas station across the road."

"The stop and sip." Rick said.

She nodded. "I heard him screaming and I hadn't even seen another living person in almost a month. I dropped the stuff and ran out to help him off the fence when you and the Chinese kid showed up."

"He's Korean." I corrected her for the second time.

She nodded, like it wasn't an important detail.

Rick stood there watching her. "You say she's a friend?"

"Yes sir." I told him, looking him in the eye.

"Then you best keep an eye on her." Rick told me.

I nodded.

"What are you doing? She could be a psycho. Or she could cut Randall free and let him take off to lead his group right back here!" Shane protested.

"We could bury him alive for all I care." Emma spoke up, making the two sheriffs turn to her. "I know his kind. They don't come back once they go down that road."

I nodded in agreement.

"You keep an eye on her." Rick repeated sharply.

I nodded again.

Rick sighed. "Best introduce her then."

Shane was fuming, nearly red in the face as he stormed back to camp.

The whole group looked up warily as she approached, just barely behind me.

"We've been informed this girl is a friend of Daryl's, from his home town. We have no reason to believe she's a part of Randall's group. I ain't sayin' she's part of this group neither, but she's been on her own a while now and doesn't mean any harm to us. We have to take that into account." Rick told the group.

I could feel her hovering behind me.

"What's her name?" Lori asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

When Emma didn't say anything, I relayed her name.

Glenn smiled. "Emma." He said, glancing at me as he walked over to her. "Hey. I'm Glenn." He said softly.

She moved away from me a little bit. "Hi." She said, shaking his extended hand.

"So you grew up with Daryl?" He asked, glancing at me.

She shrugged. "Kinda. We just went to school together."

"Uh, huh." Glenn said, turning to me.

"You got somethin' to say to me?" I growled.

Glenn shook his head with a smile. "Nope." He said, before turning back to Emma. "I'm glad you found Randall, if only because you ended up here. It's too hard to be on your own."

She nodded. "Thanks Glenn."

Maggie kind of smiled at her. "How about we get you cleaned up? You don't look like you've had a shower in a couple years."

Emma pushed some hair behind her ear. "I uh… didn't have much of a choice."

Carol smiled at me before turning to the girl next to me. "How about we fix your hair first? It'll look a lot nicer." She said, coming over and putting an arm around Emma's shoulders.

Emma looked up at me, fear flittering back into her eyes.

"I'll be here when ya get back. It ain't but a haircut and a shower." I told her quietly.

She nodded, before turning to Carol. "I'd like that." Carol, Maggie and Emma walked off in the direction of the house and I had to make myself turn away from them.

"So, she's a friend, huh?" Dale asked, coming over to me.

I picked my crossbow off the stump and strung it over my shoulder. "Yeah."

"From high school?" Dale clarified, like he hadn't been standin' there the whole time.

"That's what I said."

He nodded and just looked at me funny. "Anything else you wanna add?"

I shook my head. "Yeah. I'm goin' huntin'." I told him, picking up a peach and sinking my teeth into it as I headed for the forest.

* * *

I came back with a string of five squirrels and four rabbits. I set to work skinning 'em when a shadow crossed my path. I looked up to see Emma standing over me. She looked a lot more human, the dirt scrubbed off her face and her hair cut well.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey." I said back.

"You uh… you want help with those?" She asked, loosely gesturing to the squirrel I held.

I looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. "Don't much remember you as one for skinnin' dead stuff."

She shrugged. "You think I got these curves on nut and berries?" she said with a little smile.

I couldn't help it; I smirked. "You really wanna help, I ain't stoppin' ya."

She sat down next to me on the log, our legs almost touching. I had to force myself to think about the squirrel in my hands. Skinning it, gutting it.

"You're not happy to see me." She said quietly, as not to be overheard.

I shrugged. "Ain't feelin' nothin' but surprise."

"But definitely not happiness." She said. Her voice hadn't changed much. It still held a lot of the northern accent she'd grown up with.

I paused to look over at her. "I ain't seen ya in ten years. The last time I even heard from ya was some stupid fancy paper." I told her. I could still remember every detail about the wedding invitation she sent. The part of my brain that still felt something for her had memorized every detail, down to the date and time. I started back in on another squirrel.

She ducked her head a little. "I told him 'bout you, ya know. 'Bout how much you meant to me." She said and my hands slowed in their work. "He wanted you to be the one to give me away."

I scoffed. Like I could ever give her hand to another man.

She gave a nervous laugh, glancing at me. "I told him even if you did come, which I didn't think you would, you wouldn't be able to stand there and let me take another man's last name. I told him you'd probably knock his lights out and then leave."

I shook my head. "Wouldn'ta left."

Her hands stopped working on the rabbit. "What do you mean?"

I had to keep paying attention to the squirrel. I didn't know what I'd do if I looked up at her. "I woulda knocked out his lights and kissed ya, right there on the stand."

"Yeah?" She asked and I remembered the time in her bedroom, when she was trying to help me figure out my first cell phone; the first time I told her I loved her.

"Yeah." I confirmed, finishing the squirrel.

She nodded, but didn't say anything else. I felt like there was a canyon between us. I wanted to cross it, but the fear of the drop to the bottom halted me.

She cleared her throat. "I guess I'll go wash my hands and see if I can help Lori with something."

I nodded and she stood up, walking away.

It took every ounce of my willpower to not look up at her as she walked away. I finished the rabbits and took the small game to the RV to be put in a bag and stored in the fridge.

About an hour later, Rick called for the rest of us to come into the house and asked Maggie if she'd watch Emma. I knew exactly why we were all getting called into the house as I stood up and followed the others.

I glanced at Emma from the deck as she sat at the picnic table with Maggie. I pulled open the door and stood against the fireplace.

"Should we allow Emma to stay, or should we give her a weapon, some supplies and send her on her way?" Rick asked the room.

Everyone spared a glance at me. But I knew I had to be objective about the subject; not let my feelings get in the way.

"She doesn't seem like a danger to anyone. She's scared out of her mind though." Carol volunteered.

"Does anyone know how long she's been alone?" Lori asked, looking around the room.

"I asked while I was cutting her hair. She said she didn't know how long, but Atlanta was long gone." Carol said, looking over at me.

"So she's been out there alone since Atlanta was hit?" Lori asked.

"That's got to have been, what? Almost three months ago now?" Dale asked, worry across this face.

"It was only two weeks after the outbreak that Atlanta fell. She's been on her own almost two months." Andrea said.

"That's a long time to be out in the woods alone." T-dog said, shaking his head.

"I think she should stay. We can always use another hand with chores." Glenn spoke up.

Shane grunted beside me, obviously not agreeing.

"What if she's dangerous? What if being alone all that time made her psychotic?" Andrea said, looking around the room.

I stiffened, but said nothing, keeping my gaze on the wood boards below my boots.

"If she's meant to harm any of us, she wouldn't have volunteered to help with the laundry or firewood." Rick said.

"I think she just needs to be around people again. I don't think she's a danger at all." Dale spoke up.

"Daryl? Do you have anything to add?" Rick asked.

"Dunno whatchu want me to say." I said, shifting my weight.

"Do you think she's a danger to the group? Or do you think she can pull her own weight?" Rick asked.

I nodded. "She's a hard worker. She sets herself on a goal and there ain't no stoppin' her. She takes a while to warm up to ya though."

Rick nodded. "Then I think it's settled. Emma stays with the group." Rick said.

"What about Randall?" Shane spoke up for the first time.

"Does anyone think he should be spared? We all know what his group is capable of." Rick said.

"The only people who think so are Glenn and I." Dale said.

Glenn shook his head. "He's not one of us; not the way his group is."

"We need to give the boy a chance." Dale begged.

"He's dangerous. His group is dangerous." Lori protested.

Carol shook her head. "I like being here on the farm, but I don't feel safe while he's in the camp."

T-Dog nodded. "He can't be trusted."

"If we do this, we're saying there's no hope." Dale told us. "We need to do what's right."

"Maybe…" Andrea starts. "Maybe we should give him a chance. One chance to prove he's not a slimeball."

Rick looked around the room. "Anyone else willing to spare the boy?"

We stayed quiet as Dale urgently looked around the room.

He huffed. "This group is broken." He said, leaving the room.

"It's decided then." Rick said, a finality to his words. "Emma has to prove her worth and we take care of Randall."

We all nodded, following him out of the farm house.

"Daryl, Shane." Rick called, waving us over.

I glanced over at Emma who looked worried as Lori walked over to her. I looked back towards Rick as he led Shane and I out to the slaughter house. Shane grabbed Randall roughly, half walking, half dragging him into the barn that we'd cleared of the walkers. Shane pushed on his shoulders, dropping him to his knees.

"Do you have any final words?" Rick asked him.

"No. Please. I don't want to die!" Randall said, as he starting crying. "Please!"

Rick pulled out his pistol and pulled the hammer back. He raised the gun to Randall's head.

I turned, hearing a noise.

"Do it, dad." Carl said.

Rick's hand was shaking and he pulled the gun away from Randall's head, releasing the hammer. "Get Randall out of here."

"What?" Shane asked.

"Get Randall out of here." Rick repeated.

Shane huffed, his chest puffing up as he stormed out of the barn.

I grabbed the restraints around his wrists. "On your feet, you sack of shit." I told him, pulling him up. He was blubbering as I forced him out of the barn and back into the slaughter shed. I kicked the door closed, locking it on the outside.


	10. Completely Incomplete

**[Author's Note: Alright, here's a long chapter because I've been terrible at updating. I didn't really know how to break it up, but here ya go.]**

* * *

I saw Rick walking Carl up to the camp as the last rays of sunlight fell away from the world. I hiked back up the hill after them, seeing Rick pull Lori away from Emma. I walked over and sat across from her at the table.

"Hey." She said, looking at her hands. "Done?"

I shook my head. "The kid walked in."

She looked up sharply, looking over at Carl. "Did… did…?" She started.

I shook my head again. "We put him back in the slaughter house."

She nodded and sat silently for a long moment. "Daryl… did Merle make it?"

I looked over at her. I'd never known her to care about Merle, but she looked genuinely concerned. "They got trapped in a store in Atlanta. They handcuffed him to a vent because he kept runnin' his mouth. We went back for him and all we found was his hand."

She nodded. "Well, I'm sure he's still out there somewhere. Probably hip deep in some girl that asked what happened to his poor hand." She smiled.

I smirked. I knew it was probably true too.

All of the sudden, there was a scream from somewhere in the lower field. I stood up, grabbing my crossbow as I took off through camp, towards the field. I heard footsteps thundering beside me as the screams kept coming. I couldn't have braced myself for the scene though. I ripped out my knife before I'd even stopped running.

A walker was on top of Dale, tearing into his stomach. I jammed my hunting knife into its head. I yelled for the rest of the group, seeing Emma behind me. I looked back at Dale. He was sputtering. I knew he'd gone into shock. I could barely take in the sight of him, all of his insides spilling out of his stomach.

Andrea fell down behind Dale, telling him to hang on. "Save him!"

Hershel looked sorrowed. "I'm sorry. The damage is too intensive. He can't be saved."

"Help him!" Andrea cried, looking up at Rick.

Rick upholstered his gun and stood over Dale as Andrea cried. His hand started shaking and I knew he wouldn't be able to pull the trigger.

I swallowed, stepping up to him and taking the gun out of his hand. He made no protests, taking a step back. I pulled the hammer back, pointing the gun at Dale's head. He was still sputtering and his eyes were pleading with me. He knew he couldn't be saved.

"Sorry, brother." I said, pulling the trigger.

Andrea let out a sob, leaning over Dale's chest.

I felt like the gun weighed twenty pounds as I handed it back to Rick. I looked back at the group and Carl had his head buried in Lori's lap. Lori, Carol and T-Dog looked horrified. Emma had a single tear running down her face as she locked eyes with me.

"We can have a funeral for him tomorrow. Let's get him into the barn so he's not out in the open like this." Hershel said.

Rick numbly nodded and I waved over T-Dog. Andrea still crying moved to his shoulders as Rick and I stood on each side of his torso and T-Dog picked up his feet. Hershel had grabbed an old quilt to wrap around him. Andrea thanked him before disappearing.

I started walking towards the camp when I heard the sounds of retching. I looked around and saw a hunched figure in the grass. I walked over to see Emma on all fours, puking. I kneeled down next to her, taking her hair and pulling it away from her face.

She turned to look at me, startled by my appearance. "I'm sorry. I should… should be used to it by now." Emma said, turning away from me and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"That's the only thing that separates us from them." I said, nodding to the pasture where the dead walker still laid.

She nodded. "He was a good man."

I nodded with her. "C'mon." I told her, standing up and holding my hands out for her.

She took my hands and I pulled her to her feet. She walked a few feet before she grabbed her stomach and leaned over like she might puke again. "Sorry." She said, righting herself.

I shook my head, wrapping my arm around her waist to keep her upright. I walked her out to my tent in the field, sitting her down on a log. I started a small fire, knowing neither of us was going to go to sleep anytime soon.

Emma looked so small and fragile, sitting on the log. She was staring intently at her left forearm and I remembered the day I took her to the hospital because it wouldn't stop bleeding. She looked up at me and saw me watching her. She gave me a sad smile. "You know why I did it?"

I shook my head. I'd never asked. It hadn't mattered to me. I just needed her to live.

"I just wanted it to stop. I just wanted everything to stop. My mom being so overprotective; my dad giving up on us; David for only ever calling me bad names or for hitting me." She said, her eyes glazed over, like she wasn't looking at me anymore. "But after I did it, after the scissors sliced open my arm and I couldn't get it to stop bleeding, all I could think about was you."

I threw a stick in the fire before I stood and moved to sit next to her on the log. "Why?"

She gave me a sad smile. "You were always my guiding light. I knew the second you walked into that library, drunk out of your mind, you'd be the biggest part of my life. And you were. You saved my life."

I shook my head. "I drove ya to the docs. That's what saved ya."

She leaned into me. "If you hadn't picked up the phone, if you hadn't gotten a job to fix up that truck, if you hadn't made me talk to you on the way there. The docs didn't do any of that. And I never thanked you."

I shook my head again. "It ain't nothin' I wouldn't do over." I told her, pausing for a moment. "You were the only one that ever gave a shit about me. I couldn't let you go."

I hadn't meant to word it the way I did. I'd meant it to come across less sincere and a little harsher, the way I talked to everybody else. But I couldn't. I couldn't make myself talk to her like that.

"What'd you do when you got that fancy paper?" She asked quietly.

I hesitated and the silence between us was incredible. "I took the lug wrench out of my truck and dented the wheel well bad 'nough I couldn't drive it without fixing it."

She looked surprised. "Your poor truck?"

I nodded. "And then Jesse had the nerve to ask if I was fuckin' goin'." I scoffed.

"Always a charmer." She commented.

I nodded, sitting there in the quiet until I heard footsteps. Carol appeared, holding two plates. She gave us a soft smile. "We cooked up the rabbit and squirrel. Since you caught it, we didn't figure you should miss out."

"Thanks." I said quietly, standing to retrieve the plates.

"You alright honey?" Carol asked, sitting on Emma's other side.

She nodded stiffly. "He was…" She cleared her throat and I saw her blink a couple times. "He was a good man."

Carol nodded sadly. "That he was." She said, running her hand over Emma's back. "Let me know if there's anything I can get you." She said, standing up and glancing at me before leaving.

I handed one of the plates to Emma and she just looked at it. "Best eat."

She looked up at me before looking back at the plate and taking a bite of the rabbit. We sat there in silence until I saw the fire at the camp go out.

"Ready for bed?" I asked her quietly.

She nodded numbly.

I stood up, pulling her to her feet and leading her to the tent. "There an extra bag in there."

"What about you?" She asked.

"I'll sleep out here." I said, gesturing to the open space in front of the fire that was dying.

She gripped my hand, making me look at her. "You think that little of me? That you can't even sleep in the same space?"

I looked down at her, my hand laying gently against her cheek. She closed her eyes and for a brief minute, I forgot the world had ended. It was just me and her. "Ya really want me to sleep in there?"

She nodded, opening her eyes. "I don't want to sleep by myself any more. I ain't askin' ya to sleep with me. I wouldn't ever do that. I know I left and broke your heart. It's all my fault, Daryl. And I'm so, so very sorry. But I can't be alone anymore. Not even in a tent because it's too hard." She said in a rush, a tear falling from her eye.

"Shhh darlin'. I ain't goin' anywhere." I told her, running my thumb along her cheek.

She nodded quickly. "I'll uh… I'll let you put out the fire." She said, ducking her head as she unzipped the tent and disappeared inside.

I turned, doused the fire and making sure it was out before crawled through the tent mouth. Emma was snuggled into one of the bags against the far wall. She watched me as I fell onto mine. I toed off my shoes and shrugged out of my denim jacket. I started to pull off my shirt when I looked over at her.

"Sorry." She said, quietly. "I know you don't like people seeing them." She said, turning around to face the other way.

"I just didn't want to scare you." I said quietly, pulling the shirt over my head. I couldn't sleep with the stupid thing.

"I've seen them before." She said from the other side of the tent.

I nodded to myself. "Not all of them."

She was quiet. "I didn't know you had more."

"Got some new ones." I told her.

"I ain't gonna look at 'em if you don't want me too. I ain't got that right no more." She said.

A lump formed in my throat and I figured it was my pride clogging my windpipe. "You got more right than anybody."

She was silent for a long moment and I wondered if she fell asleep. "I kept the ring, ya know." She told me.

I was quiet, trying to process her words. "Why?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"I ain't gonna lie; I tried to get rid of it twice. With the college loans and my momma goin' into the hospital, I thought about it hard. But it was the only thing I had left of you. I couldn't let it go." She said.

"I didn't know your momma went into the hospital." I told her.

She rolled onto her back so she was staring at the top of the tent. "She had a stroke. She's been gone almost four years now."

"I didn't know." I said, feeling the guilt weigh on my chest.

"I knew I had no right to come back and just start talkin' to you again. I invited her friends and her side of the family. There was almost fifty people show up. I sold the house to pay off the rest of my student loans." She said.

I ran my hands through my hair. "I never even knew you were in town."

She glanced over at me in the dark. "I know. I told Merle not to tell you. He told me when you went in and got off work. He grows on you."

I shook my head, somehow a laugh escaped my throat. "That he does."

"I'm sorry." She said after a moment of silence.

"Ain't nothin'." I told her, crawling into the sleeping bag.

We didn't say anything else. It took a while, but I heard her breathing even out and I felt myself relax a little bit.

* * *

I rolled over, opening to eyes. I'd heard something. I sat up, looking around the tent. The first rays of light were coming up over the hills. I looked over at Emma and figured out what woke me. She was crying in her sleep, balling the sleeping bag around her fists.

"No." She cried softly. "Daryl. I'm sorry." She whispered against the nylon materiel.

I pulled myself out of my bag and unzipped hers, pulling her into my arms.

"I'm sorry." She whispered through tears, gripping my arms.

"Shush, darlin'. It's alright. I'm right here." I whispered in her ear.

She opened her eyes and looked up at me. She seemed alarmed by the water on her face, quickly wiping it away. "I'm sorry. I-I guess I had a bad dream." She said, trying to pull away from me.

I couldn't let her go, seeing her hands shaking. I pulled her back to me and she let me. I held her close. "I thought you died. You were covered in blood and you couldn't breathe." She said, finally hugging me back. "I thought I lost you." She whispered.

"I ain't goin' anywhere. I'm right here." I told her.

We stayed like this until the sun came up over the hills in the distance. "C'mon baby girl. Let's get you somethin' to eat." I told her.

She nodded, sliding off my lap. She put on her shoes while I pulled on my shirt and jacket and tied my shoes. I grabbed my crossbow and opened the tent door, holding out my hand to help her up.

She said a quiet thank you and we walked up to camp together.

Rick spotted us and waved us over. "Daryl, I'd like you to help me and T-Dog dig the grave."

I nodded, giving Emma one more glance before I followed him over to the oak tree.

* * *

We all stood in a semi-circle around the grave that was now Dale's. Hershel said a few nice words and then Rick stepped up. "We're going to prove Dale wrong. We're going to show that we can still work together. I'd like to let the boy go free, out of harm's way of course. It was Dale's last wish and I'd like to do right by it."

Andrea had been able to hold her tears until then. She cried and Carol pulled her arm around Andrea's shoulders, trying to comfort her.

We all kind of hovered for a minute before Andrea and Carol turned, heading for the RV. Lori took Carl back to the camp. Emma turned to follow them and I caught up with her. We didn't say anything.

We all ate breakfast in silence, none of us willing to talk about what happened.

"Daryl, I'd like to talk to ya, if I can." Rick said as we finished eating.

"I'll take your plate." Emma said.

I nodded to her, standing up and walking towards the porch.

"I'd like you to go with me to drop Randall." Rick said.

"Why don't you take the sheriff?" I asked.

Rick shook his head, glancing at Shane. "I need someone I can trust going with me." He said quietly.

I nodded, processing the information. "So what's the plan?"

* * *

We had a plan. Rick and I were going to take Randall into one of the nearby towns, but far enough out that he'd have problems getting back on foot. We called over T-Dog to go get him out of the slaughter house for us while we loaded the rest of our gear.

T-Dog came back, informing us that Randall was gone.

Emma came up to me looking worried. "I haven't seen Shane either."

We started searching the farm house and the barn. After a short while, Shane stumbled back into camp, looking like he'd gotta into a fight. "Randall," He said, out of breath. "Randall got the drop on me."

"Daryl, Glenn, go comb the east field. See if he got far. Shane and I will go look through the south pasture." Rick said, going full leader mode.

I grabbed my crossbow from the tree it was leaning against when Emma stopped me.

She looked fearful. "You be careful. I don't have a good feeling about this."

I nodded. "I will." I said, jogging to catch up with Glenn.

The sun was setting in the distance as Glenn and I searched the woods. I'd found where Shane and Randall entered the woods, catching the tracks in the fading light.

"There was a struggle, right here." I said, gesturing to the area of ground that was disturbed.

"They fought? There's no way Randall could take down Shane." Glenn said, keeping a look out.

"Nah, I don't think he did. The tracks are all wrong for what Shane said happened." I told him, trying to see them better in the fading light.

"Walker." Glenn whispered, tapping me on the shoulder.

I ducked behind a tree as Glenn did the same thing. It saw me standing behind the tree and dived at me but Glenn impaled him with his machete.

"Thanks." I said, looking down at the body. "Ain't that what Randall was wearing?" I said, leaning over to roll the body.

"Holy shit. That is Randall." Glenn said.

"He bit? Scratched?" I asked, standing to look out while he examined the body.

"No. He's not bit or scratched. His neck's broken though." Glenn said.

"Shane lied." I said. Like that was any surprise.

"We gotta tell Rick." Glenn said and we rushed back to the farm house. "Randall turned. He's a walker."

"Did ya find the walker that killed him?" Hershel asked us from the deck.

"He wasn't bit. His neck was broken." I told them.

"Oh no." Maggie said, covering her mouth and wordlessly pointing.

Down, in the field where Rick and Shane were supposed to be searching, a massive herd of walkers was coming through the trees.

Lori ran up. "Carl! Carl's gone. Have you seen him?"

We shook our heads.

"We have to get to the basement." Hershel said.

"We can't just hide in the basement. A herd that size? They'll tear the house to pieces lookin' for us." Maggie said.

"The cars. We can use them to lure the walkers away from the house." Glenn said.

"We got some guns. We can kill as many as we can." T-Dog volunteered.

"We won't be able to fend off a herd that size." Emma said, appearing at my elbow.

"This is my farm." Hershel said firmly. "I'll die here."

"What're we waitin' for?" I asked, running to the motorcycle. I kicked it to life and everybody else grabbed a car and we headed for the barn. I caught sight of the smoke and saw fire licking at one of the corners. I fell back and shouted to Jimmy to take the RV to get Rick out of the barn.

He did as he was told. I saw the walkers swarm the RV and I could hear Jimmy scream. T-Dog and Glenn and Maggie broke out of the caravan. I saw T-Dog pick up Lori, Beth and Emma. Trying to corral the walkers wasn't going to work.

I saw Carol, running from a group of walkers. I revved the engine and ducked around them, shooting two as I went. I stopped in front of her and she climbed on. We took off down an old dirt road, leaving the burning barn and the herd of walkers behind.

* * *

We rode through the night, trying to find a road to get us back to the highway. Glenn was right; the noise did attract the walker's, but I couldn't exactly stop to pick up another vehicle. And I'd already lost my truck; I wasn't going to lose Merle's bike too.

Carol and I decided the highway was the best bet. We'd left supplies for Sophia that we'd forgotten after we found her in the barn. It took a while, but we found a paved road and not too long after that, we found T-Dog's truck with the girls in it and Glenn and Maggie's SUV.

I pulled up beside the truck. I needed to know that Emma was okay. I saw her nod and that was all I needed. I fell back a little behind the truck as the path through the abandoned cars got narrower.

We stopped, parking the cars.

Lori ran over to Rick and Carl. Maggie and Beth ran over to hug Hershel. Carol and I got off the bike. I wanted to hug Emma, but I didn't want to be obvious. I never was all that good at PDA.

"I'm fine. Just… shaken." She told me.

Even after all these years, she knew the look I was giving her. "I'm glad that's all you are."

She nodded and we joined the rest of the group.

"Shane attacked me last night. Told me I wasn't a good leader for the group. He tried to shoot me, but I killed him. Jimmy died too, trying to save Carl and I. The RV got overrun." Rick said, his voice heavy with sorrow.

Lori covered her mouth at the news of Shane's death. We all knew Shane and Lori had a thing before Rick came back; thinking Rick was dead. None of us brought it up though. We knew better.

"Patricia got attacked trying to save me." Beth said, almost too quiet for us to hear.

Hershel pulled her close. Maggie rubbed her sister's back.

"Andrea might still be alive. She got separated from us, but I didn't see her go down." Carol offered.

"We could go back. Go look for her." I volunteered.

Rick shook his head. "There's no way to find her. If she made it out, she'd head for the woods. It's dangerous, but she'd be away from the farm. What we need to do is move forward."

We agreed to keep moving. Maggie and Glenn took Beth and Carol. Hershel's SUV fit him, Rick, Lori, and Carl. Then T-Dog took Emma.

* * *

It was early evening when our caravan stopped in the middle of a country road. Hershel's SUV ran out of gas.

"We'll camp near the road and scavenge for supplies in the morning." He told us when we were all gathered around each other.

I could almost feel the doubt in the air.

"We found each other, against all odds. We stay here, together. Or else we risk getting stranded." Rick continued.

"We're already stranded. And there's walkers everywhere." Glenn spoke up.

"There's a place out there for us, where we can build a new life. We just have to find it." Rick told us.

"Tell them about Randall." Emma whispered from next to me.

"Glenn and I found Randall. He turned without being bitten. His neck was broken." I spoke up.

Rick nodded and looked conflicted. "We're all infected." He said solemnly. "At the CDC, Jenner told me. Whatever this virus is, we all carry."

"What?" Maggie hissed.

"We're infected?!" T-Dog exclaimed.

"I had no way of knowing if it was true or not. I'm sorry." Rick said, walking away from us.

I looked down at Emma. She looked scared. "We're all going to turn into walkers?" She asked.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Nah."

It started getting dark and T-Dog and I collected wood to start a fire. We were all huddled in the ruins of an old stone structure. The quiet was nearly eerie. Nobody was talking or planning. I hadn't liked the constant chatter, but it was better than sitting here stupidly.

Emma leaned into me unexpectedly. "Do you remember the second day you got outta juvie?"

I was surprised she brought it up. Honestly, I was surprised she remembered it at all. "Which time?"

"Don't be like that. The time I met you." She said.

I nodded, aware we had the attention of the others.

"You paid off my car repairs."

I shook my head. God that was a long time ago. "It was the third day and you were so mad at me."

"Why did you get mad?" Carol spoke up.

"Up until that point, I was pretty much paying my own bills. I lived with my mom, but I had a part time job after school. So I paid for my phone extension, my car loan, my car repairs, my school supplies." She said with a little smile. "And this guy is outta juvie for three days and thinks he can just pay my crap off."

I shrugged, slightly uncomfortable with the attention we were receiving. "I owed you."

She shook her head. "Nuh uh, cowboy. Don't even start that one again."

"How'd you two meet?" Maggie asked us.

I looked over at Emma. I didn't want them to hear the real story.

Emma cleared her throat, looking over at me. "It was a Thursday night, my junior year. I was within a half hour of closing the library when somebody," She said, giving me a pointed look. "Stumbles, drunk off his ass, into the children's section. He's screaming and hollering, making a bunch of noise. Pretty much everybody abandoned the place."

I ducked my head, appreciating the fact she left out the major details.

"So I walked over and told him to get off the little stage he was on. He said make me. I told him I would, except that would involve me pulling his legs out from under him and if he fell, I wouldn't be able to pick him up." She smiled, like it was a fond memory.

"Ten bucks says the cops got called." Glenn spoke up.

Emma smiled. "They did, actually. One of the librarians, I think. Anyway. I think it was a… drunk and disorderly? Or drinking under the age?"

I shrugged. "A friggin lifetime ago. I got no clue."

Emma shrugged. "I showed up for the next visiting hours at juvie and he had been so drunk, he didn't remember any of it."

"Little shit came to see me every damn Wednesday." I said to no one in particular as I watched the dirt below my boots.

"Oh, it was fun. I knew all the wardens by name. I'd talked with them enough; I knew the exact procedure for when he finally got released." Emma spoke up. "I think Merle was even in Jail then, right?"

I nodded. "Alabama State Pen. Did a year for attempted robbery."

"That sounds just like Merle." T-Dog said, shaking his head.

We spent the rest of the night in comfortable quiet.


	11. I'll Take Your Invitation

It'd been a couple months since Hershel's farm got invaded. We'd been doing well at avoiding the herd in the area, which we assumed was close to 150 strong by now. With Shane gone, Rick wordlessly chose me for his right hand man. Emma and I had gotten better about being around each other. We weren't anywhere near as close as we used to be, or as close as Glenn and Maggie, but we were closer than we were when she first showed up.

We'd been driving for a while, Emma with her arms around me on the bike when Rick's lead car flagged for us to stop.

"We need to discuss where we're going." Rick said, as we all gathered. "We've been moving in circles since we left the farm."

"Well yeah. You wanna stay anywhere near that herd of walkers?" T-Dog asked.

"I think since we're stopped, we should go wash our clothes in the creek." Carol said and Rick nodded.

We all agreed that was a good idea. "Well, fine. We're stopped anyway. Might as well go hunting." I spoke up.

"I'll go with you." Emma said.

It wasn't that I didn't want her to go hunting with me. It was that there were walkers crawling these woods like termites.

"I'm nearly as good a tracker as you. You said so yourself. And it's not like I can't protect myself." Emma said.

"Just let the girl go." Maggie said and I rolled my eyes.

"Best get your bow." I told her.

She smiled and ran off to Glenn's SUV which held most of the weapons. She brought back a compound bow and her shoulder quiver, full of arrows. We'd found the bow on one of the house raids a few months back. She was clumsy with it at first, but she picked it up pretty fast.

She still had a little problem with walking quietly, but she was a lot better than Shane or T-Dog to take hunting. And she was quick, boy. I had never seen reflexes like that on a girl before. I told her to stay close as we got into the woods. She stayed behind me and off to the left, so I could see her.

We'd been walking for almost twenty minutes when I realized she wasn't behind me. Panic was the only feeling that passed through me. "Emma?" I called, not too loudly. "Emma!"

Nothing.

No response.

I growled, gritting my teeth. I back tracked about fifty yards and found a dead walker with an arrow hole in its head. Alright, she'd been through here. That was somethin'. I paused, seeing the train tracks we'd passed a few minutes ago. I looked west, then looked east. About seventy yards down the tracks to the east was another fallen walker.

I kept my crossbow up, ready to fire. I scanned the area in front of me as I walked. "Emma!"

"Daryl, come here!" She said, from somewhere to my right. Why did she sound so excited?

I followed where I thought her voice came from and found a clearing with a little stream. "Whatchu doin', woman? You coulda got yourself killed."

"Daryl?" She asked with a smile, watching me.

"Yeah?" I asked, warily.

She took my chin and turned it to the left.

An abandoned prison stood on a little hill.

"Whoa." I said quietly, seeing the yard full of walkers.

She still had a giddy smile on her face. "I'll race ya back!" She all but squealed, taking off a run.

* * *

Emma, T-Dog and I cleared out the walkers in front of the first fence as Rick started cutting it open. We all climbed through the gate, Glenn and I going in last to tie the fence back up so no other walkers could follow us. We all ran, heading for the main gate.

"Someone has to get past the yard full of walkers to close the gate on the other side." Rick told us.

"I can do it." Glenn offered.

Rick shook his head. "I'll do it. You, T-Dog, Beth, Maggie, Lori and Hershel have to distract the walkers from here. Carol, Emma, Daryl, and Carl, I want you in the guard towers to shoot them down."

We nodded and took off to the guard towers. Emma and I ran for the same one, Carl and Carol taking the other. We got in place and we saw Rick strap on a rifle and some chains before Lori opened the gate.

Rick took off and the people down below started making a bunch of noise. Emma and I together landed five walkers before he even got to the gate.

By the time we finished, the yard was full of dead walkers. Emma and I climbed out of the tower to retrieve our arrows. Once we did that, we dragged all of the bodies into the farthest corner of the yard and started a fire near in the middle of the yard.

They started dinner and I wandered off to an abandoned truck, keeping watch for anything outside the gate. I could hear the Irish drinking song Maggie and Beth sang from here. It felt good to feel safe again.

It wasn't too long before I heard footsteps. I turned my head to see Emma, holding a plate of food.

"You walked off without dinner." She said, holding it up to me. I took it and set it on top of the cab before turning around and offering her my hand. She took it and I pulled her up into the bed where I stood. "It's nice out here."

I nodded.

"I'm sorry. 'Bout wanderin' off today." She told me.

I shook my head. "Can't get mad at ya when you found this place."

She shrugged. "Still."

We sat in silence for a few minutes until she groaned, trying to rub her own shoulder.

"You aight?" I asked.

She shrugged, dropping her hands pointlessly. "I haven't shot that much in a while."

I stepped over to her, tentatively putting my hands on her shoulders and rubbing.

She groaned and I was reminded of the happy noises I used to be able to get out of her. "You keep doin' stuff like that and I'm gonna think you like me or somethin'." She said.

"Or somethin'." I said, leaning closer to her.

She shivered under my touch and I was acutely aware of how warm it was for a spring evening. "I'm serious, Dixon." She mocked.

"Me too." I whispered. There was a warm feeling low in my stomach. I hadn't been this close to her in a long time.

"We should, uh…" She stuttered, pulling away from me. "We should, get back to the fire. The gate's safe."

I nodded and we jumped out of the truck, me with my plate of food that I ate on the way back to the campfire.

Rick just got back from walking the fence and was giving the group a pep talk. "Inside, we'll find food, weapons, medicine. We just have to go get it." He said, then his lips turned into a smile. "These assholes don't stand a chance."

I glanced at Emma. I didn't know about her, but I was ready for some real food.

* * *

The next day, Rick told us that T-Dog, Glenn, Maggie, Emma and I would take the inside of yard while the others created a distraction. I had emptied my quiver and took my hunting knife, jamming it through one of the walker's head.

"Fuck." I heard from my left. I glanced over to see Emma with a walker advancing on her. The hunting knife we'd found for her was behind the walker.

Glenn chopped his head in two with the machete and covered her while she retrieved the knife.

I almost missed the walker in riot gear in front of me. It took trying to stab it three times before I jammed the blade up into its skull, under the riot helmet.

Soon enough, the yard was empty. We pulled the dead walkers into a corner of the fence. Cell Block C was directly in front of us. We headed inside, clearing out five or six walkers, but it was otherwise secured.

"This is kinda cool." Glenn said, looking around at the cells.

"This is perfect." Rick smiled. "Everybody gets their own room."

I saw Emma smile and carry her backpack up to the upper level and throw her stuff in one of the cells directly in front of the catwalk.

I threw my stuff in one of the cells on the upper level, directly in front of the stairs. "Yo, come check this out." T-Dog yelled, followed by a 'woohoo!'

I headed towards the visitor section outside the cells, where there was a couple tables. T-Dog stood in front of a huge gun case. Rifles, shotguns, pistols, Kevlar vests, walker-free riot gear. You name it, this thing had it.

"Alright. Suit up. We'll see if the rest of this block is clear or not." Rick told us.

Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, Maggie, Hershel and I headed deeper in the block. We left Carl and Emma to guard the others. For a while, it seemed quiet, as if this wing had been completely abandoned. But suddenly, we ran into a group of walkers and as we tried to avoid them, we ran into another group. In the darkness and confusion of it all, we lost Glenn and Maggie.

We pushed inside a room, quieting Hershel's protest of going back.

We heard the walkers pass by us and snuck back out into the corridor. "Alright, c'mon." I said, making sure it was clear.

Hershel screamed and I turned around to see a walker biting into his calf. I nailed the sucker in the head as Hershel fell. "Grab him. I'll cover you." I told them, scanning ahead.

Rick and T-Dog pulled Hershel down the hallway and because Glenn and Maggie were being quiet, they almost got an arrow through their heads. We found a safe room and we frantically tried to figure out what to do.

"His leg." Rick said. "We have to cut it off. It's the only way to keep the infection from spreading."

"Do it." Maggie said with a nod.

I held down Hershel's shoulders as Glenn held his feet and Rick started to amputate it. Hershel was screaming and then he quieted down.

"He's going into shock." Maggie said.

We looked around and found a bed sheet laying on the floor. We quickly wrapped up Hershel's leg. T-Dog and Rick took hold of Hershel as Glenn and Maggie cleared the way. I took up the rear, making sure nothing decided to jump out at us.

Luckily, we made our way back to the cell block. Rick and T-Dog laid him on a bed while Carol and Lori started tending to his leg. Maggie and Beth were holding each other, crying. Emma ran up to me, glancing at Hershel.

"Are you alright?" She asked, sounding concerned.

I nodded. "Hershel got bit. We had to cut his leg off."

She looked up at me, still concerned.

"I'm alright." I said with the smallest of smiles.

"Go take a nap." She told me softly. "I'm sure Rick is gonna want you for a night watch."

I didn't respond for a minute, but I nodded. I gave her a squeeze on the shoulder and headed for my bunk. I wasn't laying down for more than a minute before my eyes slipped close and all I saw was black.

* * *

I slowly woke up, opening my eyes and rolling over to face the rest of the cell. I stretched and groaned, moving to sit up in the cell. I scrubbed my hands over my face. I climbed to my feet and stumbled out to the main level. "How's Hershel?" I asked Glenn.

He looked up from Hershel's bed. "He's doing alright. Still unconscious."

I nodded, glancing around the main room. "Where Emma?"

Glenn looked up at me, almost confused. "She didn't tell you before you laid down?"

"Tell me what?" I asked.

Glenn blinked. "She went with Carl to see if they could find the infirmary. Carl didn't want me to tell Lori, but there shouldn't have been a reason for Emma not to tell you."

There was a crashing noise and I followed it out into the main visitor area. Emma and Carl laid out a bunch of supplies on the table that had been dumped from a backpack. Glenn rushed in after me, beaming. "You guys did it! This is perfect." He said, grabbing a few things to take back to Hershel.

Carl looked up at me. "Are you okay, Daryl?"

"We need to talk." I said, looking at Emma.

"It was my idea." Carl spoke up, obviously defending the venture.

Emma set her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, as soon as I get back, we'll start going over those vocabulary words, alright?"

Carl nodded and left the room.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Get some rest?" I repeated her words.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Carl and I knew we needed supplies. Rick and T-Dog went to patrol. Maggie and Beth are distraught. Glenn's watching everybody else."

"Ya shoulda told me." I said.

"No. Because if I had, you wouldn't have let me go." She countered.

"You're damn right I wouldn't have." I said, louder than I'd meant to.

The cell door closing behind T-Dog and Rick made me stiffen.

"Ya aight?" T-Dog asked.

"Peachy." Emma said. I knew she was mad at me, but I didn't want her going off on her own like that and getting hurt. If she'd gotten bit in the prison, I might never have found her body.

"Goddamn you, woman." I growled at her. "How was patrol?" I asked, turning to Rick.

"Obviously not as eventful as it is here." T-Dog said with a snicker as he replaced the shotgun on the gun rack.

"It was fine. How's Hershel?" Rick asked.

"Better, thanks to a trip to the infirmary." I said with a shake of my head.

"You better watch your tone, Dixon." Emma said under her breath as she walked away.

"No! C'mon!" The voice echoed off the walls and we rushed to see what was wrong. Hershel had stopped breathing and Lori was preforming CPR. Maggie and Beth held each other, crying.

It took a minute, but his eyes opened and he took a breath. Maggie and Beth looked relieved as they leaned over to hug their father.


	12. You Take All of Me

We found a pair of crutches and it took about a week, but Maggie and Beth got Hershel on his feet. It took another couple days for him to get comfortable enough to travel outside the cell block, out into the yard. Lori and Beth stood on each side of him as he trailed outside, Carl following close behind.

"Well look at that." Glenn said happily.

"Way to go, Hershel." Emma smiled at the older man. She looked over at me and I couldn't help but smile as she ducked her head to hide a little blush.

It seemed like things were finally coming together. Rick was right; this might just be a place we could build a new life.

Gunshots made me freeze. Emma was holding her pistol, sounding off rounds. I turned and saw Walkers heading right for the yard. Rick and Glenn took off at the same time I did, heading for the walkers. I heard Beth scream and hoped she got Hershel inside.

I took a second to glance back at them and saw Hershel, Beth and Maggie locking themselves in a fenced in area. I wanted to know where Emma went, but we were too busy fighting off the walkers that were swarming.

We finally killed the last one and Glenn was the first one at the fence. "It's cut. Somebody cut the gate open."

"There's someone in the prison?" I asked.

Just as the words left my mouth, the prison's alarms sounded.

"They must be on a back-up generator." Glenn said over the sirens.

"Daryl, help Glenn patch the fence." He said, taking off to hopefully shut down the noise.

Glenn and I tied the fence back up before following Rick inside to see if we could shut down the backup generators. We came to a fork in the hallways and I told him to go left and I'd go right. We jogged off and his footsteps quickly fell away.

It took me longer than I'd liked and the noise was making my head pound, but I found the generator room. Rick was in a struggle with what looked like a prisoner when I came to the doorway. The guy knocked Rick's gun from his hand in the struggle.

I nocked an arrow and held the crossbow up. "Hey!" I shouted, making both of them pause for a minute. A pull of the trigger and he was slumped over Rick.

Rick threw him off and went to the generator, powering the whole thing down. He sighed and looked at me. "Ya aight brother?" I asked.

He nodded. "Let's find the others." He said.

I yanked my arrow out of the dead guy's head and followed Rick back. We met up with Glenn at the fork we had split up. He hadn't seen any of the girls or Carl. We followed the hallway back, pausing. T-Dog's mutilated body laid on the floor of the hallway. Rick shot him in the head, just to make sure.

We found our way outside. Thankfully, Maggie, Hershel and Beth were unharmed except for the shock of the attack. It was the best we could hope for.

"Where's Lori and Carl?" Rick asked.

"They ran inside. T-Dog and Carol went in too." Maggie said.

"T-Dog's dead." Glenn said, coming to hold Maggie.

"We need to go back and search for the others. We haven't found Carol or Emma either." Rick said.

The sound of a baby crying made us all freeze. We looked over to see Carl trailing behind Emma, who held a crying baby. She had tears coming down her face.

"Lori… she… is she…" Rick sputtered, coming towards her.

Emma barely shook her head, but we all knew she didn't make it.

"Wha… what…" Rick said, doubling over to grab his knees.

"Rick, I'm… I'm so sorry… I tried…" Emma stumbled over herself.

Rick screamed and I could feel the pain he felt. We all looked at each other, wondering what to do. Carl stood next to us, his face full of grief.

"You want me to take her?" Maggie asked Emma.

She stiffly nodded her head and I realized she was covered in blood.

"Let's get her inside." Hershel said.

Rick screamed once more. We looked over to see him grab his axe and head in the door that Emma and Carl came out of.

Emma stood there, just staring at the side of the building until I touched her shoulder. She jumped. "Sorry, Daryl." She said quietly, following the others inside. I was the last one in and closed the cage behind us, hoping Rick would be alright on his own.

We got her into the visitor area and Hershel looked her over. "She's healthy, but she's going to need formula in order to survive." Hershel said.

"No. No way. Not her. We ain't losing nobody else. I'm goin' on a run." I spoke up.

"I'll back you up." Maggie said.

I nodded. "Beth." I called her over. "Kid just lost his mom. His dad ain't doin' so hot neither." I told her, nodding to Carl.

She nodded. "I'll look out for him."

Hershel nodded.

I looked over at Emma. She looked up at me, looking lost. "Hey." I said softly.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"It'll be okay. Alright?" I told her as the others conversed.

She nodded briefly. "Be careful, okay?"

I nodded to her with a smile and called for Maggie as we headed out to the yard where the bike was parked.

It only took us fifteen minutes to get back to the daycare that Maggie remembered. We swept the whole building, not finding any walkers. Then Maggie raided the kitchen, stuffing a backpack full with formula and bottles.

"So. You and Emma…" She trailed off as I took a look around.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"You didn't just go to high school together." She commented.

"How do ya figure?" I asked.

"She told me she was supposed to be married once, but she found the guy in bed with her roommate." Maggie said.

"Ya gettin' to a point?" I asked, sharply.

She smiled over at me. "But yet she wears a ring on her right hand with a pretty diamond in the middle."

I paused. I hadn't looked at her hands. I was too busy forcing myself to think about things other than Emma. She'd told me she kept the ring, but I hadn't known she still wore it.

"You gave it to her, didn't you?" Maggie asked softly, looking at me.

I shook my head. "I was a stupid kid. Ain't no more than that. You get the kid somethin'?" I asked.

She nodded, accepting my change of conversation. "Enough for a little while."

"Aight." I said, heading back out to the bike.

Maggie stopped, seeing a diaper bag on the floor. She smiled up at me. "It's got diapers, wipes and clothes."

"Grab it. We got a kid to feed." I told her. I dropped a walker on the front lawn of the daycare before we got on the bike and rode back to the prison.

We dismounted and ran back inside. Beth was holding the baby as we dropped the supplies on the table. I don't know what it was, seeing a baby in the room. I'd never much been one for lil' kids, but somethin' I couldn't explain washed over me.

"Here, lemme." I told her and she smiled, handing over the baby.

"She's probably hungry." Beth said, handing me a bottle of the formula.

I rocked her gently back and forth in my arms and she hungrily drank from the bottle. I glanced over at Carl, sittin' on the stairs. "She got a name yet?"

He shrugged. "I was thinking about maybe Lori. Then there's Carol too. Andrea, Amy. Jacqui, Patricia. Or Sophia, I don't know." He said, lookin' lost.

I nodded for a minute, thinking. "How 'bout Lil' Ass-Kicker?" I smiled.

Maggie, Glenn and Hershel laughed. When I glanced over, I saw Emma smiling.

* * *

Maggie and Beth traded off taking care of the baby the rest of the day. We still hadn't seen Rick yet and as we started a fire, I was worried for him. Emma had barely said two words since we'd gotten back from the run for the formula. I wanted to talk to her, but not in front of everybody.

She glanced at me for a second, nodding to the visitor area. I nodded once and she stood up, walking out of the room. I gave it just a minute before I followed her. She was pacing when I found her.

"I know this is asking a lot. But I need you, Daryl." She said, looking so scared.

I wrapped my arms around her and she pulled me close.

"She didn't want to die." She said quietly through tears. "But she knew she had the save the baby."

I rubbed her back in slow circles, pulling her against me.

"She went into labor and I freaked. I was so scared. But she talked me through it the whole time. Even while she was crying and screaming." Emma said.

I pulled her tighter to my chest. "I'm sorry you had to do that."

She let out a sob. "Carl… Carl said we couldn't leave her, Daryl. He… he shot her so she wouldn't come back."

I felt regret coursing through my chest. Carl was just a kid. He shouldn't have to deal with any of this shit; let alone taking down his own mom. "I'm so sorry, baby." I caught myself saying.

She cried against my jacket and I wanted to take all her pain and wash it away.

"It'll be okay. We'll figure it out." I whispered, running my fingers through her hair.

She nodded, pulling away from me. She turned her back to me and wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

I touched her shoulder, trying to let her know I was there for her. "Ain't nothin'."

She gave a little laugh, still trying to rid her face of the stray water. "It's always something." She said quietly, walking away from me.

I felt torn. I wanted to make her feel better, but I didn't know what I could do. Reluctantly, I followed her back into the main area. I took a seat on the floor, glancing over at her. Maggie whispered something to her and she shrugged wordlessly. We sat in the quiet for longer than I would've liked. It was almost painful. Even the baby didn't make much noise.

"Hey Wilson." I said, across the circle.

Emma looked up at me, obviously surprised by my usage of her last name.

"You 'member that song they played in Sophomore year for the kid that was killed in that car crash on 75?" I asked, remembering how all of us kids were gathered in the gym. I painfully remember talking to a buddy, not much paying attention to the memorial that was being held.

"For Bobby Baker?" She asked.

I nodded. "The song?"

"Country Roads by John Denver." She said.

"Almost heaven, West Virginia, Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River. Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing in a breeze." I sang quietly.

She shook her head. "Country roads, take me home to the place I belong. West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home, country roads."

"All my memories gather 'round her, miner's lady, stranger to blue water." Glenn added with a little smile.

"Dark and dusty, painting on the sky, misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eyes." Beth sang along.

"Country roads, take me home to the place I belong. West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home, country roads." Hershel smiled as we sang along to the chorus.

I smiled, seeing everyone remember the words. It felt, for just a moment, like we were a family, camping somewhere remote. No cell service, no TVs, no cars haulin' ass on the freeway. Just our small group, remembering what it was like to be human.

* * *

Rick was still MIA. Hershel said he found Rick in the boiler room where Lori gave birth, waiting on a call; but the phone line only had static. I was worried about him and the rest of the group, but I knew he needed time to grieve.

"We need more supplies. Formula mostly. We could use more diapers and clothes for her." Hershel told us after breakfast.

"I'll go." Glenn volunteered. He looked at me like he expected me to object.

"You'll need someone to go with you." Maggie said.

"I'll go with Glenn." Emma spoke up.

I looked over at her. I knew she was still shaken from the day before.

"Ya sure you're okay with that?" Maggie asked her.

She nodded, looking at me. "We need the formula. It wouldn't hurt if we found a bag of Cheetos either." She said with a little smile.

Glenn nodded. "That's good. You're a better shot than me anyways."

I clenched my jaw. I wasn't gonna tell her not to go, but I sure as hell didn't want her goin' out there. Not after what she'd gone through yesterday. "Mere." I said, nodding my head to the other room.

She rolled her eyes, standing and following me.

"Ya don't gotta go." I told her.

"Yes I do. If I don't go help Glenn, I'm gonna go catatonic and that's the last thing we need. Rick's AWOL, you're the new leader, and the baby needs formula." She countered.

I sighed. "I don't want ya out there."

"Daryl, I'm a big girl." She told me.

"I can't protect ya out there." I told her sternly.

"Ya ain't gotta protect me either way." She said and I could hear the anger in her voice. "I'm goin'." She said with finality as she walked away from me.

Glenn and Emma gathered their stuff and loaded up into one of the cars. I wanted to tell her goodbye, but my stubborn ass just watched Glenn drive her away.

"Ya shoulda said goodbye." Maggie said from my elbow.

"Ain't one for goodbyes." I told her.

"So I'm seein'." She said, turning and walking back inside.

I sighed, following her back into the cell block. I looked around the group and decided we best not be twiddlin' our thumbs the rest of the day. "Carl, Maggie, think we best search the rest of the prison, clean out the walkers."

They nodded solemnly, heading for the weapons cage.

"Ya'll aight here alone?" I asked, looking at Hershel and Beth.

Beth smiled and I remembered she was so much younger than the rest of us. "We'll be fine. I'm a pretty decent shot if anything does happen."

I nodded to her. "Best lock that door behind us."

They nodded and Hershel held the baby while Beth locked us out of the cell block. I taped a flashlight onto the bottom of my crossbow so the light shined where I was aiming. I looked over at Maggie and Carl, who nodded that they were ready.

We scanned the lower levels together and I felt a tug towards Carl. "My ma, she died in a house fire. I was just old enough to ride a bicycle." I said, knowing he stood next to me. "Fell asleep with a cigarette in her mouth, least that's what the cops said. Ya know, she was just gone. Erased. People said it was better that way. I don't know. Just made it seem like it wasn't real, ya know?"

"I shot my mom. She was out. Hadn't turned yet. I ended it. It was real." Carl spoke up.

I had a moment of silence for the kid, scanning the area in front of me.

"I'm sorry about your mom." Carl told me.

"I'm sorry about yours." I said.

We walked for another twenty minutes before we hit a fork in the road. "Maggie, you and Carl head down that way. You need help, you holler." I directed them.

They nodded, heading away from me.

I hadn't walked down the hallway very long when I found a walker, stumbling towards me. I nailed it in the head, taking it down. I went to retrieve my arrow, but paused, seeing a knife sticking out of the side of it's throat. Carol's knife.

My blood boiled. I took the knife and stabbed it mindlessly into the wall, then turned and stabbed at the ground. I felt defeated. I didn't want any more dead bodies. I didn't want to dig anymore graves. I let out a huff of air as I leaned against the wall and slid down it, resting on the floor.

The door in front of me on the other side of the hall moved. I figured it was a walker, stuck because of the bodies in front of the door.

It banged again and I could feel my temper rise.

Another bang and I stood quickly, yanking the door open and ready to stab whatever son of a bitch walker was inside.

I almost dropped my knife, seeing Carol. She was weak, but she stared at me, then her lips quirked a little bit. "Thought you'd never find me." She croaked.

I slung my crossbow over my shoulder, leaning down to pick her up. By the time I reached the fork, Maggie and Carl were wandering back. Carl smiled, seeing Carol alive.

Beth unlocked the gate for us and I laid her down in one of the closest cells. Even with only one leg, Hershel was still a doc by any other name. I moved out of the way so he and Maggie could take a look at her.

I sighed, feeling better. I turned around and saw Rick standing there.

He ducked his head when our eyes met. "Thank you, Daryl." He told me.

Carl watched him carefully. "You wanna to meet her?"

Rick nodded. "Yes."

Carl took the baby from Beth, slowly walking over and handing Rick his daughter. He smiled, looking down at Carl.

"She's gorgeous." He said. "Have you named her yet?"

Carl shook his head. "There's too many to choose from."

Rick nodded. "Come outside with me."

Carl nodded and followed the sheriff out.

I milled around the main area for a while until Rick and Carl came back in. Carl was carrying the baby and a red shopping cart full of formula, and Rick was carrying a girl. I felt a little bit of panic. The shopping cart was from the little store in town, where Glenn and Emma were supposed to be.

"What's your name?" He asked, getting the girl to open her eyes.

She said nothing, watching us all carefully.

"Rick." I called.

He turned to me and nodded, locking her in the main common area.

Carol had just woken up not too long ago. She wasn't doin' so hot, but she was better than when I found her. Rick smiled, giving her a hug.

"Poor thing fought her way into a cell. Must've passed out, dehydrated." I told Rick.

Beth took the baby from Carl and went to sit next to Carol. There was a look of realization on Carol's face as her eyes welled up.

"I'm sorry." She said, standing to give him another hug.

I saw the girl watching from behind the bars and knew we had to interrogate her.

"Your friends were kidnapped." She spoke up and I felt every muscle in my body freeze up.

"What?" I asked, walking over towards her.

"Asian guy, pretty girl. I knew who took them." She told us.

Rick unlocked the door and I followed him in, shutting the door behind me.

"There's a town near here, Woodbury. There's maybe 75 people there. Run by this guy, calls himself The Governor. Pretty boy, charming, Jim Jones type." She said, watching us both.

"Why are you telling us this?" Rick asked.

I didn't care why the hell she was tellin' us; we needed to know where the hell this place was.

"Woodbury isn't the safe haven everybody thinks it is. And I got a friend I need out of there. I can get you in, but I can't do it by myself." She told us.

I took Rick's shoulder, pulling him to the other wall. "We gotta get Glenn and Emma. We ain't losin' nobody else." I told him sternly.

He nodded. "But we need to be careful. She could be leadin' us right into a trap."

I nodded, agreeing with the sheriff.

"Alright." Rick said, turning back to her. "We'll help you get your friend if you help us get ours."


	13. Livin' For the Only Thing I Know

**[Author's Note: Currently, this is the last chapter. I have kind of an idea to continue on the story, but it's like, half an idea and I don't know how to complete it. I was thinking at the end of this chapter Merle would wander up to the gate, since I cut the whole 'Daryl and Merle fight scene in Woodbury' from my plot line, because I couldn't get it to flow correctly. So basically, if you want more of this story, I need some serious ideas. Otherwise, this is the last chapter.**

**Please let me know either way, Continue or Good as it is.]**

* * *

Rick decided it would be best if only he and I went. Maggie told us she should come too, but we told her she needed to watch after the baby and Hershel. She didn't like it, but she agreed.

We took our stuff outside, loading it into the car. I saw Rick pull Carl aside, but I moved away from them so they could have a minute.

Maggie came up to me with fire in her eyes. "You best bring him back, Daryl." She told me firmly. "If you bring Emma back, you best bring back Glenn too."

I nodded, knowing how much Glenn meant to her. "I will, Maggie."

"I swear to God, Daryl, if you don't…" She said, letting the threat hang in the air.

"We ain't losin' nobody else. We'll bring 'em back." I told her.

She nodded, turning and making her way back into the cell block.

Rick called me over and we loaded up the car. Carl manned the main gate for us and we headed out through the forest. We drove for a while until Michonne, the girl, told us we'd have to go the rest of the way on foot to sneak in. Rick pulled off the road and into a little culvert of trees, hiding the car from the road.

We took our bags out and followed Michonne through the trees as it started getting darker. It took us about half an hour of walking before we reached a fence that seemed to be made of school buses and sheet metal.

"Alright, Michonne. What now?" Rick asked.

"There's a break in the fence twenty yards down, right behind the armory." She told us.

We nodded, following her lead down the fence. She pulled back a piece of sheet metal that only appeared to be riveted shut. We snuck in and just as she said, it was behind some kind of warehouse. We snuck into the armory, seeing if there was anything we could use that would help us get Glenn and Emma out.

We grabbed a couple grenades, smoke bombs, and I put a couple flash-bangs in my bag. Satisfied, we filed out the back of the building.

"They're probably being held in the warehouse on the outskirts of town. Nobody's allowed in but the Governor's men." Michonne told us.

We followed her along the fence for a while until we got to the end of the residential buildings. Rick and I looked at each other as gunfire broke out. We glanced around the building and heard it coming from the warehouse that Michonne had told us about.

One by one, we ran across the open space towards the door. Rick opened the door and tossed in a smoke bomb, letting it explode. I pulled my bandana up over my mouth as Rick tied one around his face. We nodded to Michonne and stood up, charging in. We found Glenn and Emma coughing, stumbling through the hallways. I grabbed Glenn and I saw Rick grab Emma and we made our way back to the street.

Michonne covered us as we dived into the closest building; some kind of distribution center.

Glenn turned to me and his face was badly bruised and bleeding. "Merle's alive. He's here, working for the Governor. He almost killed me."

I shook my head out of instinct. "Merle… Merle ain't no killer." I told him.

"He was gonna execute us." Glenn said sharply, before turning to Emma. "Tell them."

"I ain't tellin' 'em shit. It's done." Emma said and I noticed she wasn't making eye contact with anyone but Glenn. I realized Glenn was shirtless and Emma was wearing it.

"This is where we part. I've got a score to settle. Get out the same way you got in." Michone told us.

"We'll wait for you. Half hour. Any more than that and we're leaving." Rick informed her. She nodded and walked right out the front door.

Gunfire could be heard in the distance.

"We have to move." Rick said and we nodded.

"Can you walk?" I asked Emma.

" 'Course I can walk." She told me, still avoiding eye contact. We made our way back to the fence, some of the gunfire slipping through the alleys in between the building and bouncing off the fence.

I felt the sting of the bullet slicing the skin above my ribs, but I gritted my teeth and kept on. I had the get the rest of the group out of here before anything else. Rick led the group through the hole in the fence while I held the panel back, making sure we weren't being followed.

The gunfire faded away the further we got from the fence. Glenn figured one of his ribs was broken and I put his arm around my shoulders to help him walk. We got back to the car and Rick glanced at his watch.

"What happened?" Rick asked quietly.

"Some Mexican guy grabbed us from the store. He threatened us and locked us in that warehouse." Glenn said, glancing at Emma, who stayed quiet.

"What'd Merle do to you?" Rick asked.

"Tied me to a chair. He wanted to know where we were holed up. I wouldn't tell him. He tried to beat it out of me and then he threw a walker at me. I broke the chair and killed it." Glenn said.

"I told them where we were." Emma said quietly, head hung low.

"What?" I let the word slip my lips.

She looked up and there were tears pouring down her face. "H-he put a gun to Glenn's head. I-I couldn't let them kill him. I'm so sorry, Daryl."

"Shush now. Shush." I said, pulling her into my arms. "It's okay."

She cried against my shoulder and I swallowed painfully.

"Why ya wearin' Glenn's clothes?" I asked, pulling gently away from her.

She shook her head, moving away from me.

"Emma." I said quietly.

She broke out in a sob and all I wanted to do was comfort her. Glenn's face was red and I knew that he knew what happened.

I couldn't bear to think about whatever happened to her.

Michonne suddenly appeared, alone.

"Where's your friend?" Rick asked.

"She chose her side." Michonne said, looking pissed.

Rick nodded, then looked at me. "We need to get back to the prison."

I nodded, looking back at Emma, who just climbed in the back seat, next to Glenn. I didn't think she wanted to be close to me, so I got in the passenger seat, Michonne taking the leftover back seat.

The ride back to the prison was quiet. My head kept tellin' me I shoulda gone back for Merle. But the rest of me knew I was where I was supposed to be. Next to Rick, making sure our group got back safe.

Carol and Carl were in the yard when we approached and opened the gate for us. Glenn got out, helping Emma out. She had her arms crossed over her chest, still avoiding eye contact. We entered the Cell Block and Rick told Hershel to inspect Michonne's injuries, but to only keep her in the common area.

Beth handed the baby, which Carl all informed us was now named Judith, to Rick.

Hershel decided to look at Glenn's wounds, as they appeared more serious. I couldn't be so close to Emma and not touch her or help her. It was killing me.

Glenn kept glancing at Emma, who Hershel looked at next. I wanted to know what her injuries were, but Hershel called Maggie over and the three of them talked for a moment before Maggie came over and talked to Rick briefly. He nodded, glancing at me for a second. I watched Maggie set her hand on Emma's shoulder and lead her out of the cell block.

I wanted so badly to follow, but I knew that wouldn't do me any good.

Hershel put two stitches in my side where the bullet grazed me. It didn't do much except tear skin.

"You wanna hold her?" Beth asked.

I looked up to see her holding Judith. "Hey 'Lil Ass Kicker." I said, taking the baby from Beth.

"I think she likes you." Beth said.

"That's 'cause she don't know me well." I told her.

Beth shook her head. "That ain't true."

I shrugged. "True as it ought to be."

* * *

I couldn't stand it anymore. It'd been nearly an hour since Maggie and Emma went… wherever the hell they went. I walked through the cells until I found Glenn's.

"Hey." He said cautiously.

"What'd they do to her?" I asked.

Glenn watched me before ducking his head. "I can't tell you."

"Ya can and ya will."

He shook his head. "Emma has to tell you."

I set my jaw. Goddamn Koreans. I turned around and punched his wall. I could hear the cracking noise my knuckles made as I leaned against the wall, but I didn't feel the pain.

"Daryl, I know it's not what you want to hear. But if it had happened to Maggie, I'd want her to tell me instead of somebody else." Glenn told me quietly.

"She ain't talkin' to me." I told him.

"She's a girl, Daryl. You have to be gentle with girls or they break." He spoke up.

I looked over at him and knew he was right. I sighed. I didn't say anything else, just headed up to my bunk.

I stayed there the rest of the night. I heard Beth and Maggie singing a song and I heard Carl tell a story from his school days. I could smell the meat they were roasting. But I couldn't pull myself off the bunk to look at the girl who wouldn't talk to me.

I heard footsteps, but didn't move.

"Hey." Emma voice said softly.

"Hey." I croaked out, staring at the brick in front of me.

"I uh… brought you some dinner since you didn't seem like you were coming down." She said.

"Thanks." I replied.

I didn't hear her move for a minute until she laid the tray on the table across from the bed. Then she surprised me by sitting down on the section of bed that my legs didn't occupy. "I'm sorry." She said, so quietly I almost missed it.

"Why ya apologizin'?" I asked.

"You're mad at me."

I shook my head. "Ain't mad."

"Ya are." She said, her accent slipping through.

"I dunno how I can help ya if I can't talk to ya." I told her.

She was quiet for a moment. "Do you remember when we were happy?"

I thought about it. Every moment I spent with her was happy to me. Seein' her alive on Hershel's farm was happy for me. But I knew she meant years ago. "I do."

"I wish we could have that back." She said quietly.

I laid there for a minute before I sat up and looked at her. She watched her lap. "That what ya really want?"

She looked up at me. She hesitated, but she nodded.

"Then tell me what happened so it ain't between us. And I'll kiss ya and love ya like we were seventeen." I told her heartily.

Her eyes began to water and she ducked her head quickly.

I pulled her into me so she was sitting on my lap, her head against my shoulder.

Her whole body was racked by sobs and I would've ripped my beating heart out if it woulda helped her.

"He told me to take off my shirt and bra or he'd kill Glenn. And then he came up behind me and slammed my head into the table. He didn't do nothin'… But I ain't never had somebody force me to do that…" She trailed off through her sobbing.

I held her close. A mix of white hot rage and pure pain rocked through my body. I didn't know what I could do to help her. "I'm gonna kill him." I said without thinking.

She slowly quieted down, gripping my shirt tightly. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't you be sayin' that. Ain't your fault." I told her.

"I didn't want them to kill Glenn." She said.

"I know, baby. I know. He won't get away with it. Did David McAlister get away with it in high school?" I asked her.

She gave a short laugh. "You broke his nose, cheek and three ribs."

"And he didn't do half this to ya." I told her.

She nodded, seeming to calm down. "Will… will you…" She stuttered.

"I ain't goin' nowhere." I said, pulling her closer to my chest.

She nodded, nuzzling into my shoulder. "You were always my hero, Dixon."

"You were always my reason to be." I told her, kissing the top of her head.

* * *

I asked Rick the next morning if he knew what happened to Emma. He said he knew she'd been hurt, but not the specifics of it. I told him, so it wasn't hidden in the closet. Rick was pissed, but disagreed with my idea of burnin' the whole town to the ground.

Emma had told me she wanted us to be happy again, like when we were kids. But she was now avoiding me. It'd been better than a week now since we'd gotten her and Glenn back, and we'd barely talked at all. I couldn't bring myself to say something I might regret, when I didn't know why it was she was avoiding me.

I'd gone and asked Maggie, hoping maybe she could help me out. It wasn't what I wanted to hear though.

"Daryl. She was assaulted. You think she's gonna go back to her normal self in a week?" She asked.

I sighed. "No. I knew it was gonna hurt her in the head. I don't mean it like that."

Maggie nodded. "She needs comfort. She doesn't want to be a burden to you. She wants you to hold her and tell her you still care despite the fact she thinks she's tainted now."

I looked up at her sharply. "She ain't tainted."

"Then tell her that. And be gentle." She reinforced.

I'd nodded, going off to think about it somewhere I could be alone.

I heaved a sigh, looking out at the field that was finally walker free. We'd worked so hard to make this a safe place; we even lost people for it. I didn't think anything was worth that spilled blood.

My thoughts wandered back to Merle. Glenn said he was gonna kill him, even though Merle knew Glenn from before. I didn't think Merle was a killer, but I didn't think I'd be able to saw off my own hand neither.

And I thought about Emma. I remembered how we were in high school. How she'd bring me lunch at the shop and all the guys would give me shit because the rest of them were lonely fucks. And here I was a lonely fuck because of my own stupid pride. I didn't have the balls to talk to this girl like a man. This girl that I loved, even ten years later.

I floated back inside, hoping maybe I could figure out my next move. I closed the gate behind me as I entered the common area. Emma sat at a table by herself, twiddling her thumbs. She gave me a glance before standing up.

"Can we talk?" My voice sounded loud in my ears, but she paused, turning back to me.

"About?"

I gestured between the two of us. "Us."

"What's there to talk about?" She asked.

I felt an ache in my chest. "We gotta fix this."

"Ain't nothin' broken." She told me, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Emma. Stop." I told her quietly.

"I ain't doin' nothin', Dixon." She told me and her use of my last name was sharp.

"Ya are. You're pushing me away. That same as ya always do." I told her.

"Maybe you're pushin' back." She said, stepping closer to me.

I shook my head, holding up my hands. "I'm standin' right here."

She narrowed her eyes at me before shaking her head.

I growled. "Fine." I told her, taking the defensive. I moved around her, walking into the main area of the cells.

"Dixon! Don't you walk away from me." She called.

I stopped and turned to her. "Just takin' lessons from the master." I said, giving a little bow.

Her jaw dropped. "You did not just say that to me." I nodded simply. "I never walk away from you!" She said sharply.

"But ya keep my goddamn ring. Pawn shop wouldn't give ya 200 bucks?" I asked. I knew it was a low blow, but I didn't care.

"You want your goddamn ring?" She said, taking it off her finger and throwing it at me. "Have it."

I was fuming. "I don't give a rat's ass about the goddamn ring. Ya need to stop avoiding me."

"Like how you walked away from me, just now?" She asked.

I was aware in the back of my mind how we were being watched but I didn't really care. "It's always what you do when the chase goes south. You pack your shit and leave."

"Maybe I will." She said and I could hear the venom in her voice.

"You wanna fuckin' leave, you pack your shit and get. Ain't nobody here gonna stop your sorry ass." I said, feeling the fire in my veins.

"You want me to leave? Fine." She said, storming up the stairs and down the catwalk.

I glanced over and Maggie was staring, open mouthed. "What part of gentle did you not understand?" Maggie asked, looking exhausted.

"Daryl, she can't just leave." Glenn said.

There was a banging noise and Emma walked past me. She had her duffle on her back with her bow strapped to it.

"Where the fuck are you goin'?" I called.

"You said get." She called over her shoulder as she left the room.

"Goddamn woman." I growled, putting my hands on my hips as I turned away from the door.

"Daryl! What are you doin'!" Beth exclaimed.

"She wants to walk, she can walk her ass back to Savannah for all I give a shit." I growled.

Maggie made an angry noise before stalking over to me. "You're such an idiot. Go get her."

"Why?" I asked sharply.

"Because you love her and don't want her to die." She said, giving me a solid tone.

Her words made me pause, looking down at her. "Goddammit." I leaned down to pick up the ring before turning and running for the gate, barely closing it behind me. By the time I got to the yard, Emma was almost to the main gate.

"Emma!" I called, but she kept walking. "Mere!" I yelled again.

She made the same angry noise Maggie had as I stopped her. "What? What do you want? What could you possibly have to say that's more important than 'get'?" She asked, fire in her eyes.

"I love you." The words tumbled out of my mouth.

She paused, her face devoid of any emotion.

I leaned down and kissed her, my hands cupping her face.

It took a minute, but I heard her bag drop to the gravel and her arms wrapped around my neck as she kissed me back. I felt her lips turn up and I pulled back to look at her eyes.

"Took ya long enough, fucker." She said with a smile.

I laughed heartily. "Be mine forever. I don't even care if forever ends next week or in fifty years."

"I wouldn't have kept the stupid ring to tell you no." She smiled as I slipped it on her left hand.

"I can't believe that worked. How did that work?" Glenn asked from behind us somewhere.

"You always were a rough bastard." Emma told me.

"Ah darlin'. But ya never complained." I smiled, kissing her again.

"It's actually kind of sweet." Hershel said from behind us.

"No, but how did that work? If you told me to fuck off, I'd figure you literally meant fuck off." Glenn said and I could only assume he was talking to Maggie.

"That's because I would." Maggie spoke up.

I pulled away from Emma and smiled. "I don't give a shit if you're tired of me or not, you don't getta leave no more."

"I only left once!" She spoke up, sounding offended.

I looked at her sharply, before turning to see how far we were from the prison to the gate. "Twice."

She shrugged. "I knew you'd come after me this time."

"This time?" I asked sharply. "I came after your ass last time."

Confusion covered her features. "What?"

I nodded. "I drove out to Savannah the night before you were supposed to have your wedding. I was gonna stop ya, but your roommate said you were at your rehearsal dinner."

Her eyebrows drew together and she looked kinda cute when she was confused. "Oh. That bitch. If I find her still alive, I'm gonna gut her. She's gonna wish she'd gotten eaten by walkers. I didn't even have a rehearsal dinner because she slept with my goddamn fiancé! She's dead!"

I smirked, loving the fire I felt coming off her. I didn't have to say anything, I just pressed my lips to hers, silencing her yells. She melted against me, pulling me closer. I pulled back enough to rest my forehead against hers. "Mine forever."

She grinned. "I always knew I'd make a good Mrs. Dixon."


End file.
